Hi, I'm your husband
by AcrossTheOcean
Summary: The first time Cloud meets Leon is at the alter.  How did they get there and now what are they going to do as newlyweds?  And throw a brain tumor and a crazy ex girlfriend into the mix, what can possibly go wrong?  Rated M.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Boy, it's good to be back. We took some time off to churn out a few new stories and then I realized the other day that we have so many finished...but we hadn't posted them. lol. This was a fun idea we had where it's a marriage of convenience between two people. Reyaa has taken on her role as Cloud while aliceupsidedown is the voice behind Leon. We love reviews and expect an update every three days, as this fic is already completed.**

* * *

><p><strong>Cloud<strong>

I'd sorta hoped my bad luck would have reached its limit, what with my parents dumping me in an orphanage at birth and then bouncing from one foster home to another until I turned eighteen and the government told me to fend for myself...

None of those people had treated me badly but I hadn't exactly been the social type, not knowing how to connect with them so they'd lost interest in making me their own and thus I had no family. Then of course there was that small incident of failing in school and not being able to realize my dream of becoming a vet.

My grades had been okay, not perfect enough to gain me a scholarship though and I was too poor to pay for veterinarian school to begin with. And then, on top of all of that, I was gay. Now, I didn't mind being gay, had no trouble accepting that's who I am, but it doesn't exactly make ones life easier what with the frowning upon and bullying.

I'd thought my streak of bad luck had dried out considering it had been used to the max, but apparently I was wrong. It had taken a small vacation is all. Giving me a peaceful couple of years until the age of twenty-five. I'd found myself a job in an animal shelter, working with animals like I wanted too. A small apartment, definitely, just one room and that was about it, but I was content. And now... Vacation was over.

"It's not dangerous..." I told my lawyer friend Tifa, sitting in her luxurious office to explain my situation. I was really fucking poor, I couldn't pay those bills... Much less afford surgery, "Not yet anyway. It's why they suggest I do the surgery. If I don't get rid of the tumor it'll grow over the following years and kill me." Seriously, whatever higher being there might be, they didn't like me.

"Oh, Cloud. I am so sorry." She leaned forward in her chair, sympathy in her eyes. "And there isn't any way to get insurance from your job?"

I shook my head, "No, I went over everything and there's nothing that can help me out. I need this surgery and..." I threw my hands up in the air, puffing out some air in frustration, "I can't afford it, Tifa. If I don't get the tumor removed I'll die and if I do the surgery then..." I sighed, "I'll be in debt for the rest of my life. Every penny I'll earn will have to go to that bill."

One rainy morning roughly two years ago I'd slipped with my bike and crashed into Tifa's parked car. That's how we'd met. I don't know why, but the woman had taken pity on me and hadn't charged me for the damage. My pride was a little hurt, but I would have had to sell my only mode of transportation in order to get that dent in her expensive Mercedes fixed. Luca was a big city and I needed my bike to get around. I would have sold it though, butTifa just hadn't let me. Since then we'd been friends and since she was sort of my only friend... I'd come to her with my current issue. The fact that she was a lawyer made me hope she might have a solution to the entire problem.

"Hmm..." She leaned back in her leather chair and looked thoughtful, one manicured finger tapping the desk lightly. "Okay, there are a couple of ideas that I have. First off, we need to get you insurance, but we obviously can't go about it through the front door. So, we'll need a loophole. Second, we'll need to make sure that it's good enough insurance that you won't have to pay anything out of pocket. And third, we'll need to make sure that we don't get caught."

Smiling at me with a glint in her eye, she stood up and turned around to look at the company photo hanging on the wall. About thirty men and women were in the photo, each one in a perfect suit, with perfect hair and the perfect smiles. They were the lawyers who were a part of the same firm as Tifa. She gazed at it for a moment, then turned back towards me with a serious look on her face.

"Cloud, do you trust me?"

I hate that question. "Yes..." I said carefully, tensing a bit as Tifa was unpredictable. I knew for certain I would never be able to guess what she had in mind right now.

Smirking at my obvious discomfort, she continued. "How do you feel about marriage?"

I blinked, "But I'm gay and you're a woman. And, what?" This was confusing...

She threw her head back and laughed loudly, "Oh man. No, you silly boy, not to me!" Still laughing, she turned back and gently lifted the company picture off of the wall and walked over to me pointing at one of the people in the picture. "This guy. How about it? Marriage is an exception to the pre-existing condition medical rule. They have to cover everything you need them to, regardless of how long you've had it. The insurance at this company is one of the best in the country. Ergo, you can marry someone from the company, use their insurance to get fixed, and then in a few months, just get it annulled by a judge. And guess who happens to know plenty of judges who are willing to do that for you?" Taking the frame from her hands, I tilted my head curiously, looking at the man she'd pointed out. He was handsome.

Absorbing Tifa's words, I frowned up at her, "Isn't that illegal though? And what about him." I tapped the man's face in the picture, "Why would he do that for me?"

"Illegal is such an ugly word." She said, smiling evilly and shaking her head. "I prefer to use the word, inventive. And Leon is probably the nicest most generous guy hiding behind a stoic facade you'll ever find. He would do it because I'll ask him to. And once he meets you, he'll do it because he can." Shrugging, her shoulders she went back behind the desk, and sat down. "Besides, it's only a few months."

"He's a lawyer too?" I asked and Tifa nodded, "I don't want to get him into trouble... But if you suggested it then that means you're sure it'll work." She'd never tell me to do something if she wasn't sure it could work. "I wouldn't have to actually be married, married to him, right? I mean. It's just for the paperwork, I don't have to play nice and live with him in those few months, right?" I was aware of the level of insanity in her plan, but considering my life was on the line? Yeah, I was considering her offer, definitely. It's not like I had anything better.

She shook her head slowly. "No, I don't think you'd have to live with him, but..." Biting her lip, she sent me a worried glance. "Maybe you should consider it. Not as in a married couple, but as a roommate type thing? I'm worried about you, Cloud."

"You should be. I got a tumor in my brain." I retorted, smirking as she glared at me. "I'm fine, Tifa. I can't ask this guy to cover my bills with his insurance and become my friend because you believe I don't have enough of them." I snorted, "Plus. You've seen my apartment, where the hell would I put him? I don't even have a closet..." Man, that was just pathetic.

"Leon happens to have a very nice home, with plenty of space for you." She said, sending me a pointed look. "Just, think about it. I'll talk to Leon today, and if all goes well you'll be married by the end of the week!" I was slightly alarmed by the intense squeal of glee that she let loose, and then she started rubbing her hands together, probably plotting my wedding in her mind. "This is going to be awesome!"

* * *

><p><strong>Leon<strong>

One down and at least four more to go. Sighing in annoyance at my client's insistence that there was, in fact, a case here to take to court, I flipped through the file, searching for these alleged 'fraudulent transactions'. So far, all I was seeing was a blatant disregard for company procedure in regards to corporate credit card purchases and not anything that was technically fraud. But old men who couldn't keep it in their pants shouldn't be given corporate credit cards in the first place.

This could all be written off as a misunderstanding and wouldn't hold up in court. But, I was being paid an obscenely large amount to study this case and study it I would. Nothing in that one either. I stretched my arms up and popped my neck, glad that the end of the day was almost here. Clock watching wasn't really my thing, but since this wasn't a case yet, it did not require me to work overtime and my couch and big screen were calling my name. The play-offs were next week and I wanted to re-watch all of the highlights from the games this season and pick who I thought would win. I'd done pretty good last year, and I thought about entering into the betting pool here at the office. Something to kill the time, anyways.

"Hi Honey!" Rinoa... "Guess what! That little restaurant down by the theater plaza is finally finished. How about you take me there, stop being such a prick and apologize for your behavior these last couple of months?" She chirped, walking over to my desk, clearly believing she owned this entire room. Including me. "How was your day? You look a bit tired. Would you like me to rub your muscles, or do you claim to be gay still?"

My phone buzzed and I pressed the button, "I'm sorry Mister Leonhart, I tried to stop her..." My assistant mumbled through.

"It's okay, thank you." It would do no good to get mad at the poor girl. Rinoa was a force to be reckoned with, goddamn her. Keeping the scowl off of my face, it would only make her burst into insane tears, I sent her what I hoped was a warning at least. "Rinoa, what are you doing here? How many times do I have to tell you not to burst into my office without an invitation?" Clearly, I would need to start locking my door...

She raised an eyebrow, leaning over so she could pat my cheek, grinning as I pulled away from her touch grimacing. "Leon, seriously..." She murmured, "What did I do to make you pretend you are gay? If you tell me then I'll fix it and we can be together again, the way we were six months ago?" She smiled softly, as if I shared the happy memories she was clearly thinking about.

I scowled. How do I get through to this girl? Did she need a restraining order? I knew a very cooperative judge who would certainly sign one if I asked him to. "Rinoa, whether or not you believe I'm gay is irrelevant at this point. What is relevant is your completely offensive disregard for the proper policies and procedures of this office. My superiors can and will make life difficult for me if you continue to invite yourself up here unannounced. Now, please leave." I waved her off, hoping she would take the hint.

She huffed, straightening and clutched her Prada purse tightly against her, "Fine. Clearly you've stepped out of bed with the wrong foot earlier this morning. No matter, I know how to deal with it." She gave me a perky smile, clicking her heel, "I'll be at that restaurant. I made a reservation under your name at nine. I'll see you then." Giving me a nod, she whirled around and then left my office just as quickly as she'd come in.

Groaning, I immediately resolved to avoid that restaurant like the plague. Maybe I should leave the city, no better yet the country, for a few days to remove the bad taste she put in my mouth. Or maybe I should alert building security to a psychotic woman harassing me? Clearly, I needed protection. And as much as I like my receptionist, she was obviously unable to stop Rinoa. Maybe I could switch with someone else in the building?

My phone buzzed again. Growling, I pressed the button. "Miss Tifa Lockhart is here to see you, Sir."

Tifa? "Send her in, and heaven help her if she brings me bad news." Sitting back in my chair, I waited for her to come inside. Less then three seconds later, the door opened, revealing a smug looking Tifa. She sat herself down in the chair opposite from my desk, scratching her cheek with a manicured nail delicately.

"Bring you bad news? I'm a smart woman, Leonhart, you really believe I'd take such a risk?" I let a small smile play on my lips. She was probably the only person in the office that I would consider a friend. We'd worked a couple of big cases together this past year, the boss's jokingly called us the 'Heart' team, and she knew about my troubles with Rinoa. Had in fact offered to step in and slap Rinoa with a restraining order for me. Or just plain slap her. The offer had been awfully tempting.

"If you were really smart, you'd know that I need a vacation to get away from the crazy that keeps barging into my office." Sighing, I leaned forward and rested my arm on the desk. "What can I do for you, Tifa?"

She grinned, "You know how I believe you to be a fool because you're much too nice a guy to tell Rinoa to fuck off?" She didn't let me answer, instead, patted herself on the back, "Since you won't let me help you get rid of her in the usual way, I found a manner for you to show Rinoa you definitely are gay, getting her off your back and... You'll be helping a dear friend of mine who really needs your help."

Intrigued but wary, this was Tifa we were talking about, I just inclined my head a little. "Tell me about this plan you have and if it's not insane, I may just consider it."

She laughed softly, "Oh, Leon, sweetie. It's me we're talking about. Of course it's insane." Reaching over, she patted my hand then sat back in her chair, rubbing her palms together gleefully. "You told me that you once asked a one night stand to stick around a little longer and have him kiss you with Rinoa present. That little display didn't seem to make her understand the situation as she is still here." She rolled her eyes, "That woman is completely nuts, Leon. How you ended up with her?" She shook her head, "Never mind. I don't even want to know. Anyway. Here's something that should tell her you really and truly are gay." She paused for dramatics, "Marriage."

I blinked. "But you're a girl." I said dumbly.

Tifa pressed her lips together, shaking her head slowly, "No, Leon... That." She groaned, reaching over to smack the side of my head, "Use you lawyer brain! God. You're like meant to be..." She mumbled before snapping back to attention, "My dear friend?" She looked pained then, "He recently found out that he has a tumor located in his brain. It's not going to kill him so long as he gets surgery to remove it before it gets the chance to grow. Unfortunately... He doesn't have medical insurance and well... There's no way he can pay for the bills. I'd marry him for show and have him use my insurance, but both his work place and hospital know he's gay."

I leaned back in my chair thinking about everything she'd just told me in a logical and objective way. Clearly, this would be technically illegal, but I knew how Tifa's mind worked and it wasn't really illegal if we stayed within the letter of the law. We'd get married, we'd share insurance, then we'd move on. It would get Rinoa off of my back, surely. But this friend...

"What is his name? Can you tell me a little about him?" More importantly, would I need to do anything special for him? Would he live with me? She smiled, happy I was considering this. Pulling open her purse, she dug through it and then pulled out her wallet and from that she plucked out a picture which she handed to me.

"His name is Cloud. Twenty-five years old. He works in the animal shelter down at the docks, wanted to become a vet but couldn't afford it and slipped the chance at a scholarship. No family and he rides a bike, which he accidentally crashed into my Mercedes roughly two years ago and that's how we know one another."

"A bike?" I asked absently, looking at what was probably the most amazing pair of blue eyes on the planet, almost completely overshadowed by spiky blonde hair. He didn't really look sick, but then again, it was just a tumor. Not really sure why, but I wanted to help him and not just for Tifa's sake or the chance to get rid of Rinoa. "When does he need the surgery?"

Tifa cleared her throat, which is something she did when she wanted to smother a grin of victory when she'd won a case. "In about three months. Aside from your insurance, he could really use another friend. He lives in this tiny apartment, doesn't even have a closet and it's impossible to turn in his bathroom. I'm a little worried about that," She was up to something, I could tell by the tone of her voice, "I mean, the tumor isn't affecting him physically and if he gets the surgery then he most likely will never get any sick feelings. But I heard that a good environment and a happy mental state of mind can really help in situations such as big, scary surgeries-"

I held my hand up to cut her off, grinning as I recognized her lawyer voice that she used on unsuspecting juries. "Ease up there, Tifa. I'll do it, and he is welcome to have the spare room in my house. When can I meet him?" And how soon can I introduce him to Rinoa? "I guess I should plan a wedding, right?"

Her hand shot up to her heart and she smiled softly my way, "You don't know what this means to me, Leon. To Cloud as well... You're saving his life." She said solemnly before clapping her hands together and grinning, "And no. You don't need to plan anything. I've gotten everything prepared already. All you need to do is show up at the chapel by the forest on Friday. That's in two days. I'll tell Cloud the good news and you guys can meet one another while saying 'I do'. It will be epic."

"But Tifa, why can't I meet him before?" I did have some reservations about this, and perhaps meeting him would make it easier to go through with it.

"Because you'll need all day tomorrow to convince the firm to give you the day off on Friday." She reasoned easily as she stood from the chair, straightening her jacket and flipping her long brown hair back as she started walking out of my office, "Be there at ten am sharp. Oh, and under-dress. No Armani suits. Cloud doesn't own a tux and can't afford to rent one. Jeans and a shirt should be fine." She instructed hastily as she flew out of my door, slamming it shut behind her.

So. I was getting married in two days to a guy I'd never met who needed my help so he didn't die. I somehow felt that this was all Tifa's fault...

* * *

><p><strong>Cloud - The wedding day (Friday)<strong>

I sighed in relief beneath my helmet as I saw the chapel come into my line of vision, letting my bike roar as I picked up in speed just a tad to get there faster. I was late for my own fucking wedding day. I brought the bike to a halt right before the chapel's front entrance, killing the engine and jumping off it as fast as I could so I could sprint inside.

It wasn't my fault really. Well, I guess it was since I'd just forgotten about time entirely. I'd been worrying so much about this very wedding that while stressing about it, I hadn't thought of checking the clock. Pulling off the helmet, I scanned the hallway, trying to locate Tifa, but she wasn't there. Gulping, I placed the helmet on the stair and then walked up the steps to gently push the door open that would lead into the inner area of the chapel.

Sticking my head inside, I mentally slapped myself for my stupidity as I saw Tifa pacing by the alter, the man named Leon that was to be my husband standing there, looking up at the skylight, arms crossed. The priest was looking down at his watch. Very romantic... Not that it was supposed to be. I didn't think I'd ever get married, to be quite honest. But when I had daydreamed about it, I hadn't thought it would be like this.

"I'm sorry!" I said, flaming red as I made my way inside, keeping my eyes fixed on the ground as I walked over to them.

"Cloud! Thank goodness! I thought you'd wrecked or something on that bike. Okay, well get over here." Tifa waved me closer and grabbed my shoulders to place me right in front of the man named Leon. "Cloud, this is Squall Leonhart. Leon, this is Cloud Strife."

Oh dear... Swallowing nervously, I looked up at him and then blushed because this situation was just fucking awkward. "Nice to meet you." I managed to get out, "Thanks for this?" I chuckled nervously. Okay, calm down. If he's here it means he's okay with it.

He gave me a small smile and stuck his hand out for a handshake. "It's very nice to meet you Cloud and you're very welcome. Tifa has told me a little bit about you and I want you to know that if there is anything I can do, please let me know." His voice was low and reassuring, his blue eyes staring into mine intently.

I shook his hand, giving him a smile. He was very nice. I mean... He was already letting me use his insurance and yet he told me he'd do more if I needed it. "I don't know very much about you." I told him honestly, but having some trouble looking straight at him. I knew this whole wedding was for show and what not, but getting married was like a big deal or something. I had the nervous jitters and I didn't know how to control them. And his eyes were really pretty. As he was gonna be my hubby in a couple of minutes normally that would be an okay thing to think, but... "I'm terrified." I blurted out, looking over my shoulder at Tifa, who rolled her eyes at me. Well, I was!

He didn't release my hand, instead he brought his other one up to enclose it. "Please, don't be nervous. I'm not going to put any kind of pressure or anything on you. I'm just here as a friend, okay?"

I nodded at him, "Okay. At some point between 'I do' and 'I declare you husband and husband' you'll have to tell me what it is you're getting out of this though." I squeezed his hand and then gestured for the priest waiting patiently for us to get to it.

Leon smiled reassuringly, walking with me closer to the priest to get us... married. Man, this stuff was insane. The priest gave us a nice smile, about ready to start when the door to the chapel opened behind us. I looked over my shoulder, frowning as a woman looking awfully mad, yet composed, walked up to the front row, coming to sit beside Tifa. Tifa didn't look happy and when I looked at Leon I could tell he wasn't too jolly either.

"That's why." He mumbled and pointedly ignored the woman and the glares she was sending him. "Please continue, father."

The priest nodded and opened a small binder and cleared his throat. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join these two in holy matrimony. Marriage is a sacred union before God and is a blessed practice. The couple has asked that I read the vows. Do you have the rings?" The priest paused and looked at us both expectantly. We were lucky we weren't in Spira. Gay marriage wasn't allowed there.

Tifa jumped up and shoved a case into Leon's hand. "Sorry!" She exclaimed and then sat back down. Leon opened the jewelry box and inside were two plain silver bands. Blushing a little, he held out the box so that I could remove one of them.

Rings? I suppose they were necessary to make all of this look as real as possible. I licked my lips nervously, shakily pushing the ring onto his finger, holding out my own hand so he could do the same. I didn't know this guy at all, but the fact that he seemed to be so calm made me more comfortable. He also had a very reassuring smile and he gave me a soft squeeze of the hand, mutely telling me that everything was going fine.

The priest smiled as we faced him again and turning to me he said, "Do you, Cloud Strife, take this man, Squall Leonhart, as your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, forsaking all others, to be true to him as long as you both shall live?" Wasn't he called Leon? A small chuckle escaped me as I wasn't even sure about my to be husband's name. The priest blinked and I grinned, nodding my head.

"Yeah, I do."

Turning to Leon, the priest then repeated himself. "Do you, Squall Leonhart, take this man, Cloud Strife, as your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, forsaking all others, to be true to him as long as you both shall live?"

Breaking his gaze away from the priest, Leon looked at me and softly said, "I do." Woah okay. Funky feelings in my stomach. He shouldn't be allowed to look at me like that. Then again, he was my husband now, which meant he could. Right? This was all so confusing.

* * *

><p><strong>Leon<strong>

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I felt relieved. Married. I was a married man, and thank god not to Rinoa. I could almost feel the skin burning from where she was staring at me, but I didn't care. Cloud's eyes were so much more interesting to look into than hers would ever be. We needed to make sure that we were convincing right here in front of her though. Which is the reason I wasn't looking away from Cloud.

The priest closed his folder and smiled at us. "I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may kiss to seal your union." Oh, wait, what now? I held in my surprise as best I could and watched Cloud closely, hoping he would be okay with me kissing him.

Cloud looked panicked for a second before turning his body towards me instead of the priest, his eyes huge as he licked his lips, tilting his head up a bit. His hand reached up to rest lightly on my shoulder, and he gave me a very small smile with a barely noticeable nod, giving me the green light.

I didn't hesitate, only leaned forward and gave my new husband a gentle kiss. Soft lips pressed back against mine and then the kiss was over as I pulled back, not wanting to push him or push myself. This was a marriage of convenience for both of us. I was doing this as a favor to Tifa and because when I saw that picture with those blue eyes and that wonderful smile, I figured that the world would probably suck a little more without him around. Although we were technically married, nothing would happen, but I was hoping that we would at least become friends in the process.

His fingers tightened on my shirt a bit as my face moved away from his and then slipped off my shoulder, a blush on his cheeks and he still looked a bit nervous and confused. I would need to explain the Rinoa situation to him as soon as possible. The thought that she could make his life as miserable as she made mine was unacceptable. As the priest stepped back with a smile on his face, Tifa stood up and clapped quietly. Not releasing Cloud's hand, I turned us towards her, tucking his hand into the crook of my elbow and walking us over to her. Rinoa stood from the bench, her lips pressed together in a sour manner as she nodded at me and then pinned a glare on Cloud.

"So you're the one who somehow managed to turn Leon gay?" She sneered. What the hell? I growled and pulled Cloud closer to me, instantly ready to put her in her place, but somebody got there first. Cloud chuckled, taking my arm so he could guide it over his shoulders before snuggling into my side, his lips pressing against my neck.

"As far as I know he always was." His voice softly amused and confident, meanwhile his heart was thundering, I could feel it and his fingers on my back clutched my shirt nervously. But those two things Rinoa couldn't see.

Barely containing the shiver that his breath had caused, I only smirked at Rinoa and leaned my head against Cloud's. "Cloud, meet Rinoa. Rinoa, this is my husband, Cloud. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have places to go." I turned away from her, she was no longer of any importance, and gave Tifa a grateful smile. "Thank you, Tifa. I'll see you in a week or so?" Hoping that Rinoa would assume it was for a honeymoon, instead of a short vacation from work.

I saw Tifa wink at me. "Sure thing, Leon. You kids have fun now!" Rinoa, less supportive, sniffed indignantly, but didn't say more, letting me guide Cloud out of the chapel without any kind of temper tantrum and/or hissy fit combined on her part.

We walked outside and I noticed a motorcycle parked next to my BMW, and I assumed that it was Cloud's. It looked a little beat up, but I didn't say anything. I wasn't sure what to do from here. Did I invite him back to my place? Should I offer to give him a ride home? We would need to meet up next week at some point so that we could get the paperwork signed for the insurance.

Pulling out a business card, I let Cloud's arm go and quickly wrote down my private cell number before handing the card to him. "I'm not sure where we go from here, but please, take my card and call me so that I can get the insurance set up, okay?"

He took it, tucking it into his pocket before pulling out a marker. "Here," Taking my hand, he scribbled his number on the back, "Thank you, Leon. This whole situation is beyond weird, but I couldn't be more grateful." He murmured, putting the marker back in his pocket as he smiled at me.

"Are you okay living on your own?" Easy there, Leon. You barely know him and even though he is your husband, that doesn't mean that he wants you to poke his personal life. "I mean, if you want, I have a spare room and if you needed to, you are welcome to it." Leaning in to give him a gentle squeeze on the shoulder, I stepped back and towards my car. "I'll see you next week then, whenever you give me a call."

"See you." He replied simply, not answering my first question as he avoided my gaze and stepped up to his motorcycle. Throwing a leg over it he pulled the helmet he'd picked up from the stairs on our way out onto his head and then proceeded in starting the engine. Or trying to anyway.

"No, no, no... C'mon baby, don't die on me now!" He grumbled, kicking the side of it and trying to start it again. It sputtered and then there was a loud clanging noise before a ton of black smoke suddenly billowed from the back of it. Cloud to jumped off, pulling his helmet from his head so he could stare at the beaten down vehicle with wide unbelieving eyes. "Why can't anything go right?" He shouted at it, kicking it again.

I didn't respond to his shout, there really wasn't anything I could say that wouldn't sound condescending, and I'm fairly certain that he would not want my pity. His bike obviously was a lost cause but I didn't say that either. Licking my lips and making my voice as neutral as possible, I cleared my throat to get his attention.

"I can give you a ride if you would like. Don't worry about it right now. Let's just get out of here, and Tifa can take care of this." Waving my hand, I pointed it towards the passenger side of my car.

"But..." He frowned sadly at his motorcycle, "I need that thing. It's my only transportation. Without it I can't go from my apartment in Chinatown all the way to the docks where the shelter is. I need that job because, well, I like it and," He was talking really fast, kind of freaking out, clearly, "it's the only income I have! Without it I can't stay in my apartment! I don't want to quit and take on that dishwasher job in the Chinese restaurant on the first floor of my building!" He shrieked, kicking the vehicle again as he pulled on his hair. "The bus doesn't go down the docks! I can't afford a taxi and I have no option to carpool!" Groaning, he hung his head and then walked over to my car, defeated. "A ride would be nice, thanks." he mumbled.

I silently opened the door for him, already planning on letting him borrow my jeep for as long as he needed, calculating how I could coordinate getting his bike fixed without him knowing until it was already done, and convincing him that it would be easier if he moved in with me. Not to mention, we really needed to make sure we only had the one residence in case we were investigated. I didn't say anything yet though, letting him get control of his emotions before giving me directions to his apartment.

* * *

><p><strong>Cloud<strong>

Arriving at the Chinatown gate, I pointed at the parking space beside it. "You can just stop there and I'll get out to walk the rest. Cars aren't allowed inside that district," I grumbled, starting to unbuckle my seat belt, "Which is why I got a bike..."

This stinks. One thing goes according to plan and so because that is too much goodness for Cloud, we must poke him and throw something bad at him. Why couldn't it just have been, the wedding and then go back home with the bike? Instead, it died on me! I guess I was lucky I had a very nice husband though. Man... I was married. For fake of course, but still.

Leon stopped where I'd guided him and I almost got out of the car, but hesitated, sitting back down so I could look at him, "I'm sorry. I should have thought about this when we left. Today's just a little strange so I can't seem to think straight. But, ehm... Would you mind driving me to the docks? I think I'll just ask my boss if I can stay there until I figure things out." I knew he'd offered me a room, but I didn't know where he was located and... The man was letting me use his insurance, I kind of felt like I had taken enough of his generosity already.

He scowled at me, and didn't answer right away, just turned the car around and started heading in the general direction of the docks. "What's the address of your work?"

I gulped, feeling bad for annoying him, "Dock thirty-four." I told him, buckling up again. I hoped Cid would give me a break and let me crash on the couch in the reception of the shelter. It's not like I did any of this on purpose. It was unlikely though, he might let me stay for a night, but...

"You know, if you accepted my offer of using my spare room, you could walk to work and save money to get your bike fixed." His voice was quiet as he spoke and he wouldn't look at me.

"Thanks, Leon. But you've done enough for me already, I don't want to abuse your kindness." I clipped out. I felt utterly useless. Apparently I couldn't do anything on my own.

"It isn't kindness when it's necessary. Having two residences will raise suspicions about the legitimacy of our wedding. I had my own reasons for wanting this marriage and I know you do too. If we are going to pull this off, we will need to at least share the same address and outwardly appear like a normal married couple, okay?" Leave it up to a lawyer to always have the best arguments. I crossed my arms stubbornly, remaining silent for just a bit as I tried to find a way to fight back on that idea. I couldn't though, but I wouldn't accept right away.

"So is it Squall or Leon?" I asked.

"My name is Squall, but I prefer Leon if you don't mind." He looked a little grumpy at that, and I wondered if he was a bit touchy about his name.

I nodded at him, "Leon Leonhart." I chuckled at that, "Oh, hey, Cloud Leonhart." I figured I'd be taking his name until we annulled the marriage. "I don't need anything from my place. We can just go to yours." I mumbled out softly, agreeing to taking the room he offered me. I was moving in with my hubby until further notice. A man I knew nothing about. I wasn't worried much about the trusting part though. Tifa said he was a good guy, so I believed her.

"Cloud Leonhart." He murmured, eyes still on the road. He was silent for a few minutes and before I knew it, we were turning down a residential street, and Leon was coming to a stop in front of a two-story house.

It was a very pretty house, nice lawn out in the front, the bricks painted a soft yellow, large windows and it looked to be a nice neighborhood. Stepping out of the car, I waited for Leon to guide the way. Although this hadn't been my plan of action, now that it had worked out in this way... I felt kind of good.

I didn't have to worry about anything. Leon was right, I could walk to work from where he lived. Ten minutes tops. And the house looked big enough for me to get out of his hair if he wanted privacy, or vice versa. Maybe I should consider the roommate thing as Tifa had suggested. Make my stay here a bit more permanent instead of a handy way of fixing current transportation circumstances.

He turned the lock on the front door, getting inside and gesturing for me to do the same. It was a small square hallway, a door on my right, before me and then a staircase on my left leading up to the second floor. You had to walk past it to come into a space that I assumed to be the living room. Taking off my shoes because Leon was, I discreetly sniffled the smell of the place. Each home had their own smell. I'd gotten to know many considering how I'd bounced around. Leon's house smelled like a cozy chimney fire on a rainy evening where all you wanted to do was snuggle up on a comfortable chair with a hot cup of chocolate.

"The rooms are upstairs. Follow me." He turned and headed up the stairs, pausing on the second one to make sure that I was following. I gave him a small smile, stepping up the stairs behind him. I'd be lying if I said I didn't check out his backside. In my defense, it was right there. I only took a quick peek though, not letting my eyes linger even though his ass looked really good in those snug jeans. He led me through another square shaped hallway where there was a door on my right leading to a balcony and then two doors on my left and another beside the stairway located behind me when I turned to look. Leon took me through one of the doors on my left.

I blinked at the size of the room. The bed looked so good... Lips parted, I walked over to it, leaning down on the mattress and pushing down onto it's softness. "Oh my god..." I hadn't slept in a real bed for years now. My apartment only gave space for a tiny couch. "This room is bigger then my apartment!" I exclaimed, not really able to grasp all that was happening today.

He smiled at me and pointed towards a door that wasn't the one we came through. "You get your own bathroom attached to this room as well. It's a roommate style house so it will work out really well. Would you like a tour or would you like to rest here for a bit?"

I walked over to the bathroom, pushing the door open so I could see, "Woah! I can actually WALK in this bathroom!" I grinned, feeling a bit giddy. I was sooo going to appreciate that shower! Excited, I chuckled and then closed the bathroom door and walked passed Leon, back out the room that was now mine to start the tour by myself. I figured the door beside the one that led to my bedroom led to his bedroom so I skipped that.

Marching over to the door that led to the balcony, I stepped outside and gaped at the view. It was high enough to look out between the neighboring houses, giving a great view on the docks, the sea... Staring for just a little longer, I then snapped out of it, turning, intent on going back inside to explore the first floor. I bumped into Leon though as he stood in the door frame eying me, amused at my reactions.

Smiling sheepishly, I cleared my throat, remembering my manners, "The tour would be nice, please."

* * *

><p><strong>Leon<strong>

I could hear the shower running in the spare room, er, Cloud's room and I decided that the least I could do at this point, would be to order a pizza for us. Calling and placing a quick order for a cheese pizza with bread sticks, I settled on the couch to wait for him to come down. After the tour of the house, we'd sort of gone our separate ways, me to my room and him to his. I admit that the whole situation was weird, but it would be nice if we could get to know each other now that he would be living here.

Tifa had taken care of his bike, knowing the shop that Cloud would have taken it too. She'd gone ahead and paid for the repairs that would take place as a wedding present to him. And that came to another dilemma I was having. How do you help someone who needs it, without making it look like pity? And Cloud thought that I was just doing this out of the kindness of my heart, when really, I was just using him to get rid of Rinoa. At least his reasons weren't shallow like that.

I heard the shower turn off and ten minutes later the doorbell rang letting me know the pizza was here. Paid for, I set the pizza on the table and waited for Cloud to come downstairs.

"I smell food." Cloud said, walking into the room. He shook his head, letting the remaining few drops of water fly out of his hair before sitting down beside me on the couch, reaching for the food but then stopped midway, retrieving his hand, "Can I get a slice?" He asked.

I had a strange sense of vertigo as Cloud came closer to me. On the one hand, he was technically my husband but we barely knew each other, on the other hand, he was incredibly good looking and had I met him under different circumstances I would have definitely wanted to date him. So, where did that leave me? Can you date your husband? Shaking out of my thoughts, I gave him a smile.

"Of course you can have some. Technically, what's mine is now yours, so eat up!" He grinned at my words, opened the box and pulled out a slice.

Taking a bite, he hummed in appreciation, "You're a great hubby, you didn't forget my favorite food." He joked, sitting back as he enjoyed the pizza.

"Cheese pizza? Really?" I grinned, grabbing a slice for myself and relaxing a little. "So, obviously we are consummating the marriage, but maybe we should at least get to know each other? And on that note, my favorite food would have to be tacos."

Cloud faltered in his bite, blinking at me before licking his lips nervously, his cheeks turning a soft pink, "Ehm... Don't you mean, aren't? Aren't consummating the marriage?" He mumbled, quickly taking another bite of his food to distract himself I guess.

Heat bloomed in my cheeks and I quickly looked away stuttering a little. "Yes, I meant aren't. We aren't consummating the marriage. Sorry." Dear lord that was embarrassing. Way to trip over your words, Leon.

He chuckled nervously, shaking his head, "It's fine. This whole situation is really awkward so..." He shrugged, "Sure, we can get to know each other." He agreed, thankfully letting the mistake go, "I'm Cloud Strife, or, well, Cloud Leonhart now. Twenty-five years old, I don't know my parents and don't have any siblings." He frowned thoughtfully, most likely trying to think of what else he could give me. "I love animals, hence the shelter job. My favorite color is blue and oh, well, I'm gay, I figure you already knew that, but just thought I'd announce it or whatever. I have no crazy ex boyfriends who would try and tamper with our 'for show' marriage..." He winced then, interrupting himself for a moment of pause before he softly added, "I have a tumor."

I gulped my pizza down and cleared my throat so that I could tell him about me. "I'm Squall Leonhart, but I go by Leon. Twenty-eight years old, my parents are both lawyers, I don't have any siblings and I do have a crazy ex that will most likely not adjust well to my marriage. Just a heads up." I tried to remember everything he's told me, so that I could share similar stuff. "My favorite color is also blue and I'm gay. Yes, I did have a relationship with a woman, but that wasn't something serious and it didn't last long." Shaking my head, I wished to go back in time and take back dating her but, oh well. Looking at him, hoping he would believe me when I said this. "It's very nice to meet you, and again, please let me know if you need anything. We're friends now, and friends help each other out."

He nodded, "Friends." He agreed, "And I'd like to take you up on that offer of the room. Not just as a place to crash until my bike is fixed. Tifa said you were looking for a roommate? I am paying some sort of rent though. I figure you don't need me too since if you work a job like Tifa, you earn buckets of money, but please let me so my pride isn't completely trampled." He gave me a tentative smile. I felt relieved at that. Not that I cared about any kind of rent, but if he was paying something, that meant that he was going to be sticking around for a bit. We needed to make this marriage look real at least.

Grinning, I nodded at him. "Sounds like a plan. I'll figure out a fair rent amount for you after you get your bike fixed. That can be your first priority. Deal?" I didn't tell him that Tifa was already getting his bike fixed for him, let him just enjoy the no rent thing for as long as possible. Then I could figure out how much he was getting paid at his job, calculate a percentage that would have him feel like he was contributing, without putting a strain on him.

He pursed his lips, looking a bit reluctant. He nodded nonetheless though, "Okay. But then I'm in charge of cooking dinner and the dishes. I know you said it wasn't kindness, but I need to do something to return whatever it is you're giving me."

"Fine. But I draw the line at you doing my laundry." I winked, trying to let him know that this wasn't a big deal, just something that I could do for a friend.

He smiled, sighing in relief as everything fell in place for him. "Wait. If you are for Spira's soccer team then I can't live here." He joked, grinning and then suddenly became serious, looking at me curiously, "Do you like being a lawyer? I try to understand Tifa's passion for it, but it's very hard since she has no free time whatsoever. I'm surprised both of you could even make it to the wedding what with those busy schedules."

"No worries, there are no supporters of Spira in this house." I chuckled, grateful at least that he seemed to like sports. "And as for being a lawyer, it's kind of all I've really known. Both my parents are, and I grew up hearing and understanding the words. And Tifa does have a passion for it, which means that she is always taking on more and more." She was good at it too. "I'm a little different. I enjoy it, but it isn't a career for me. It's just a job that I can enjoy." I shrugged hoping I was making sense.

He nodded, smiling, "You love your job but you aren't a workaholic. Want to watch a movie? I saw you have some pretty good old horrors in the big collections of DVD's you got."

Grabbing another slice, I went to the kitchen. "I'll grab us something to drink. What do you want?" Opening the fridge, I was suddenly glad that I'd already gone grocery shopping for the week.

"Beer!" He shouted back at me. The doorbell rang, leading me to frown as I grabbed two beer bottles out of the fridge, making my way back into the living room, peeking around the staircase to see who it was. Cloud had already moved to open it and I saw Tifa appear, shoving a bag into Cloud's arms.

"What's this?" Cloud asked curiously, opening the bag.

"Your clothes." She replied curtly, grabbing his face to give him a quick peck before waving at me, "I was passing through. I have to go now, I got a date." And then she flew back out of the house. That woman never sat still for one second. Cloud closed the door behind her, turning so he could shrug at me and then make his way up the stairs, most likely putting his bag up in his room. He came down a minute or so later, wearing a simple white shirt with comfortable looking black pajama pants and I was glad my floor was heated because apparently he liked to walk around bare foot. Plopping down beside me on the couch, he thanked me for the beer.

"When do you have to work next?" I asked quietly, hoping that we could just get to know each other a little better before we got back into the swing of things.

"I get my weekends." He smiled, clinging the tip of his bottle against my own before taking a sip. As it was Friday, that meant I could spend some time with him for the next two days. "When do you go back?" He asked softly.

I thought about it. "I only have one client that wants me to tell him if he has a case or not. But nothing else really. It's the slow season for me." He looked puzzled, so I elaborated. "I'm a fraud attorney. And now that tax season is over, people are taking a break when it comes to cases. So, I could probably take next week off and be okay."

He grinned, "Isn't what we're doing fraud?" He'd been holding the remote in his hand, intent on pressing play, but now he just tossed it onto the couch beside him, lifting his legs on the couch so he could cross them beneath himself and turn to face me, "And what about that woman at the chapel? She's your ex, right? What's going on there?"

I groaned and let my head fall back against the couch. "Technically, we are within our rights to do what we are doing. We are married, and therefore you are covered under my insurance. The only way this would be considered fraud, is if they could prove that we are only doing this for the insurance. They have to prove it, and that will be very difficult. So no, it's not fraud until they prove it." Grimacing, I thought about his other question.

"Rinoa won't listen to me. I broke it off with her six months ago. And we weren't that serious to begin with. More of a casual relationship. I never even slept with her." Using my hands to twist the air in front of me, I continued, "She twists what I say, and then pushes her way into my life. I've almost convinced myself that I need to take out a restraining order on her. Is that mean?"

He snorted, "If you had to marry me in order for her to get what you're telling her, then no, that isn't mean." He frowned then, "Why aren't you taking a restraining order out on her if she gives you reason to do so? Not that I don't like this solution, it's helping me in my case."

I thought about it. Why the hell hadn't I done it already? "Well, I was just kind of hoping that I wouldn't have to take it to that level. I'm a lawyer, I argue logic for a living you know. But, her brain doesn't seem to work like a normal human's. So, I was hoping that she would get the hint before I involve the authorities. Does that make sense?"

He nodded, "Yes. You're officially the nicest guy I've ever met." He said seriously, "I'm very lucky to have you for my husband." He added with a grin.

When he said stuff like that, I couldn't control the blush that covered my face. It was so beyond wrong. I was almost thirty and I was blushing like a teenager. Not fair at all. "Thanks. I'm just as lucky."

I felt smug satisfaction as a blush of his own appeared on his cheeks at my words. "Okay. Movie time." He said nervously, making me chuckle as he couldn't shake off the shyness.

"Yeah, this is supposed to be our honeymoon, let's lay here and watch TV all weekend, order out for food, and just be general lazy asses. Sound like a plan?"

"Sounds good." He agreed happily.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: A collab between Reyaa and aliceupsidedown. So...yeah. I got some pretty good reviews from just that first chapter, plus people seemed to be very interested in having the next chapter so...I caved. Yup, after staring at the completed story on my screen, I caved. At least for now. So here is the next chapter, two days earlier than I said it would be. I hope you're happy:D~alice**

* * *

><p><strong>Cloud - about a week later<strong>

We'd been a general kind of lazy over the first weekend of living together as fake husbands. It was very nice, we got along great and I didn't feel out of place in his home, he made everything very comfortable. Monday, while I'd been at work, Leon had taken my apartment keys and brought my stuff from that place to his, or well ours now. I didn't own that many things, mostly clothes and then some towels and kitchen stuff. The furniture belonged to the apartment complex, so yeah.

I was glad he didn't give me the chance to worry about the move, but a bit upset he had done it without me. I would have helped. Of course when I'd told him that he said that he'd been aware of this but, lawyer that he is, had reasonably argued that since I was working all day and he wasn't? It made sense for him to just do it in my stead and have everything dealt with as soon as possible.

So now, a week later, I was officially moved into Leon's house, the apartment in Chinatown I'd resided in for the last couple of years no longer mine. It was a really nice feeling. I still couldn't get over the fact that I could actually walk in the bathroom I had here in this house.

It was a little bit weird, not enough to make me say no to all the perks he'd offered me, but that small hint of attraction I felt for him was certainly something that made me frown. I was married to this guy, technically I was expected to be attracted to him and all that. But that would be the case in a normal marriage. Ours was just an arrangement we both got something out of personally, nothing to do with attraction and love. Made it feel wrong that I felt attracted to him.

If I started something with him and it didn't work out? I don't know, I didn't really want to go there. I had a surgery to go through and his insurance was going to make sure I could have it in the first place. Maybe I should just not focus on dating at all. Which... I couldn't, could I? I wouldn't be able to date anyone until this marriage was annulled. Fake or not, I had sworn fidelity. I felt the need to not break that promise, even if it had been a fake promise.

Opening the pre-heated oven, I pushed the lasagna I'd made from scratch into it, smiling as I liked making new stuff every evening to see what Leon liked best. It was sort of fun playing housewife. Househusband. There, much more manly. Nodding at my thoughts, I moved over to the sink, washing my hands. I frowned as my wedding band wasn't on my finger, but I remembered I'd taken it off before starting dinner.

Looking over my shoulder to the bar, my eyes widened and I felt a rush of panic flow through me as it wasn't there either. I'd lost it? Oh, good going Cloud! Drying my hands quickly, I let out a nervous squeak, running over to the bar and making sure it really wasn't there. Since it wasn't, I checked all the kitchen counters, and then nearly jumped out of my skin as I heard the car belonging to Leon drive into the house's parking spot.

Rushing out of the kitchen and through the living room, I tore the front door open, staring up at Leon wide eyed, who was frowning as I didn't usually greet him at the door.

"What's wrong, Cloud?" He was wearing a dark suit, a different one for each day of the week, this one brightened a little by the blue tie he was wearing.

"I did something horrible!" I frowned sadly up at him, feeling really bad because I knew those bands were important for our marriage to look real. "I was making dinner and before starting I took of my band," I lifted my hand, pointing at the empty spot, "I lost it!"

He loosened his tie as he came inside glancing around and sniffing the air a little. "Well, it's only been a few minutes right? Come on, I'll help you look. We'll find it. No worries." Sending me a small smile, he removed his suit jacket and headed for the kitchen, rolling up the sleeves on his white shirt on the way.

Oh god... If only I were allowed to undress my very own husband. It was extremely frustrating to not be allowed to touch something that legally 'belonged' to you. If we went about it that route, Leon had actually consented when he'd said 'I do'. Smothering the funky stomach flip that occurred when I looked at Leon's hotness for too long, I followed him and then, being lazy, let him look for it as I just stood and watched him do it. He'd have more of a shot at it anyways.

"Was work okay?" I asked, looking over his shoulder curiously as he crouched down beside the bar, looking over the floor.

"Same as always. I finally convinced the client that he did not, in fact, have a case of fraud, but a case of too lax company policies. He then invited me to write up a contract that will be signed by each member of the board with a company credit card." I heard him sigh in annoyance, "Really, what he should do, is embrace the concept known as Purchase Orders and leave all of the credit cards out of it. Have them use personal ones, and then reimburse them. The secretaries should be the ones with access to Purchase Orders anyways, as they are the ones who actually know what's going on in the company. But, I'm just a humble lawyer, and I'm not paid for my ideas. Ah! Found it!" Grinning, triumphantly Leon stood up, holding my ring in his hand.

I never really knew what to answer when he talked about his work because I'm not sure I understood everything he explained. One thing was certain though, the loosened tie, the messy hair that hands had run through in irritation, that serious frown on his face and then those complicated words coming out of his mouth? Lawyer speech? My dick twitched.

Blinking out of my daze, I grinned at the ring. "My hero!" I reached for the ring, but instead he snatched my hand and gently placed it back on my finger himself.

"There. Right where it belongs." He murmured, eyes on the ring and fingers still holding my hand. Butterflies assaulted my stomach, a furious blush heating my cheeks and I licked my lips nervously as I suddenly didn't know what to do with myself. He should not be allowed to be able to do that! Without brain permission whatsoever, I reached up with my free hand, touching his chest lightly for just a quick moment and then just as soon let it drop back down to my side as I cleared my throat and took a step away from him, disliking how our hands weren't touching anymore.

"Thanks, Leon." I mumbled, "You go do your thing and I'll check on food!" Good! Do something useful!

"Sure." He sounded unsure and his hand moved as if to reach out, before dropping back to his side. "Yeah." Turning away, he undid his tie the rest of his way, and went upstairs to get changed.

* * *

><p><strong>Leon - two days later<strong>

I cringed as I climbed into my car. My back was not in a good mood today. The migraine behind my eyes started at the base of my neck and just seemed to radiate outwards. It wasn't often that I got this kind of pain, but every once in a while, conditions were perfect it seemed. I was grateful that my house was pretty close to the office and if I was being honest, I was even more grateful for my new husband/roommate who always managed to make dinner for me as well.

How Cloud had remained single for so long was a mystery. He could cook, he was funny, cute, and smart. The perfect combination. Except that he was married now, meaning that his life was put on hold. I doubt that I could get a date at this point and he was my husband! Grumbling as I pulled into my driveway, i told myself it wasn't fair. We were friends, I guess, but we were married. It was confusing. Killing the engine, I sucked in my breath as my neck twinged again getting out of the car. I could blame my tense shoulders on the day I'd had. When it rained, it poured. Unlocking the front door, I loosened my tie and set my briefcase down so I could untie my shoes.

"Cloud? I'm home." Deciding that the tie just needed to go, I shut the door and untied it completely, and dropped it onto my briefcase, sniffing the air and smelling tacos. Finally, something good happening today.

"Leon! Hi! I'll be right down! Tacos are in the oven and I don't smell like dog!" Meaning he just got out of the shower. Smiling at that, I went to the living room hoping to sit down on the couch and just relax, maybe drink a beer or two. Rolling my neck and reaching my arms up behind my head, I tried to loosen my muscles some more.

"Ouch." Okay, that didn't help at all, and now my head was pounding even more. Swearing under my breath, I finally gave up and reached for the remote. Sports. I needed to see other people suffer a little to make myself feel better. Cloud appeared about a minute later, his hair wet, making the spikes flop down in his face. He smiled at me, giving me another soft and warm hello as he made his way over to sit down next to me.

Seeing me a bit more up close, he frowned, "You look tense. Bad day?"

I grunted and grimaced as I tried to turn my neck to look at him. "Well, things could have gone better today. Thank god for Tifa at least, because without her, I would have jumped out my window. And since I'm only on the second floor, it would not have resulted in my so hoped for death, instead I would have been reduced to traction and more suffering."

Turning to look back at the TV, I sighed. "Sometimes we get clients who insist that they have a legitimate case. If a paralegal, that's like a legal clerk, can't give them the answer they want, then they insist on seeing everyone in the food chain. The lawyers, the partners, hell even the Human Resource lady to check out our credentials. Oh, you've been added successfully to my insurance, and Clare says, congratulations." She'd been all moony eyed at me, asking who he was and how we'd met. I'd ignored her as best I could and just gave her noncommittal answers. "So, after the whole day being spent running around trying to prove to someone that you can in fact help them, come to find out, they didn't even have a legitimate case. Again!" The story of my life. Rubbing my neck, hoping to loosen my muscles so I could at least look Cloud in the eye, I closed my eyes and counted to ten. Days like this made me regret going into a career that forced me to interact with morons.

"The tacos won't be ready for another thirty minutes, but I'll go get you an aspirin." He murmured, the couch shifting beneath me as he climbed over the back, going to the kitchen to get me the much wanted pill. "You remember how I told you about my foster families?" He'd been bounced through fourteen families in total. I'm not sure how he'd done it... "The one I'd stayed at when I was sixteen, the lady who was completely in love with religion and tried to make me go to church while contradicting the whole belief by dressing like a hooker and cheating on her husband with two different men?" I'm glad he'd only stayed there for six months, "She worked in a spa, taught me some of her tricks." His voice was very close now and when I opened my eyes I saw the glass of water and the pill as he stood behind the couch, looking down at me with a smile, "If you need, I can maybe try and remove some of those knots?" He suggested somewhat shyly.

Reaching for the water and aspirin, I gave him a grateful smile. "That would be nice." Quickly swallowing the pill and some water I put the glass on the coffee table. "Where should I sit?" Moving around the couch, he settled himself beside me and gestured for me to turn my back to him. Once positioned, he placed his hands on my shoulders, giving it a gentle squeeze, whispering to me that I should relax before he started kneading my skin firmly, the pressure neither too soft nor too hard as he leisurely worked my shoulders, neck and back with his hands.

It felt incredible and he'd only just begun. Letting my eyes close, I let his warm hands loosen my muscles and ease the migraine that was behind my eyes. My mind was wondering and I was wishing that I could turn around and embrace him, the intimacy of this a little frightening. Husband in name only, was the thought running through my head now. So, despite how warm he felt sitting behind me, how amazing his hands felt as they ran all over my back, I could only enjoy it like this. No thinking dirty or perverted thoughts about Cloud. Must maintain business relationship, and yet, this massage was heavenly.

"Hmm, right there." Cloud was working my neck, the biggest problem area in my tense muscles. If he could loosen those ones, the migraine would finally go away, and I could relax. He shuffled closer behind me, one hand reaching over my shoulder, his fingers undoing the top four buttons of my shirt. His hand was a bit shaky, but I figured he had a reason linked to the massage to be undressing me.

My heart sped up a bit though, as his fingertips brushed the skin of my chest before he moved the shirt so it was hanging below my shoulders, giving him better access to my neck in that sense. He didn't talk, but I could hear him breathing softly as his fingers began pushing the knots out expertly. Somewhere along the line I realized he was sitting very close to me, as I could now feel his breath ghost gently over my naked shoulders.

Did I want to say anything? Should we be getting this close? Warm fingers brushed my hair as he roamed higher on my neck and I suddenly didn't care about how close we could get or if this was a good idea. It didn't matter. All that mattered was Cloud's hands on my skin and Cloud sitting less than two inches behind me. I felt a moan escape me as if by magic, my neck was suddenly loose and free of tension.

His breathing hitched at the noise and his fingers stilled for a split second before they slowly moved up into my hair, massaging my scalp. Liking that very much, I couldn't help but lean back, one of his hands slipping down to settle on my shoulder and his lips were inches away from my ear as my back settled against his chest, his other hand still working through my hair.

"And here I was worried you guys wouldn't pull off acting like a married couple." Tifa's voice interrupted, leading Cloud and I to jump apart to each our respective sides of the couch. Tifa was grinning, holding up the spare key to my front door that normally should be hidden beneath the welcome mat.

I glared at her, angry but not sure exactly why. It's not like anything would have happened, but this was my house, my couch and my time. Pulling my shirt up and redoing the buttons quickly, I scowled. "Can I ask why you didn't knock? Really, this is my house Tifa." Boundaries. Did all woman need boundaries spelled out for them?

Tifa laughed, tossing the spare key into Cloud's lap, who looked completely frozen on spot. "I did knock. I guess you guys were too... busy," She waggled her eyebrows, "To hear anything."

Cloud scoffed then, "You didn't knock! I can tell by the way your lip is quirking. Tell the truth Tifa!"

Tifa blinked innocently before shrugging at Cloud's pointed glare, "Fine. I saw you guys through the window and couldn't help myself. I wanted to see how you'd react with a surprise visit. And I do have a surprise!" She excused her bad behavior.

"It had better be good." I grumbled, relieved a little that nothing more than a friendly massage had happened. This was just a business relationship, and it was tough enough trying to hide my growing attraction to Cloud from him, and I didn't need the added stress of Tifa showing up at random times.

Tifa nodded, "Definitely good." She tossed another pair of keys at Cloud, who caught them this time, turning them over in his hand before frowning at Tifa.

"What are these?"

"Keys."

"I know. But to what?"

Tifa chuckled at Cloud's eye roll, "Your motorcycle, silly."

Cloud frowned, "These aren't to my motorcycle."

Tifa nodded, "Not to your old motorcycle. Sorry, that one couldn't be saved. But my brother Zack had his old one for sale. It cost the same amount as the repairs would have." Tifa clapped her hands together excitedly, "Surprise! My wedding present to you!"

Cloud's mouth dropped open as he sat there staring at the keys, "Woah, ehm... Tifa," He breathed, blinking up at her, "This is too much!" He said, sounding panicked as he threw the keys back at her. She then disagreed, throwing it back at him and of course being his stubborn self, he tossed them back at her. Tifa then lawyered up, coming up with at least four valid reasons as to why he should keep it before giving him the keys again, but Cloud just threw them back at her. Clearly, if I didn't stop this, they'd be going at it for the rest of the night.

Lunging forward I grabbed the keys before Tifa could catch them, and I turned to Cloud and grabbed his hand placing them in the palm and closing his fingers over them. Looking him in the eye, hoping he could see the sincerity that he was clearly ignoring from Tifa.

"It's a wedding present. Just say thank you, Cloud." Then I leaned in and whispered so that Tifa couldn't hear. "She'll never take no for an answer and if you don't want her sticking around for the next two hours trying to convince you, then you'll just take them."

"Fine!" He grumbled, glaring at Tifa before giving me a nod, "Here." He shoved the keys into my hands, "Whats mine is yours. I'll think about using it." He said, jumping off the couch, making his way to the kitchen, "I'm going to check on the tacos." I hadn't known him very long, but I did find out that he really did not like giving in to an argument. I kind of felt bad for him what with being surrounded with lawyers.

"So... This is going pretty good for you, isn't it?" Tifa said slyly, grinning at me.

I didn't even twitch or show any emotion. Two could play at the lawyering game. "It's going quite well, thank you. And thank you for getting Cloud a replacement vehicle. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go change out of my work clothes. You know the way out." It was rude not to invite her to stay for dinner, but I had a feeling Cloud wasn't feeling that generous and for that matter, neither was I. She deserved some punishment for pulling that little stunt. I was not someone who liked people barging into my life, she should know that after hearing me bitch about Rinoa.

"Leon! You better not be inviting her over for dinner!" Cloud growled, agreeing with my thoughts.

Tifa cringed just a tad, "Okay. I'll just go and let myself out." Walking over to the door, she looked over her shoulder and then raised an eyebrow at me, before shouting in direction of the kitchen, "You're welcome!" Heavy sarcasm there, but I could see the smile tugging on her lips before she shut the door and left us to our peace.

* * *

><p><strong>Cloud - A week later<strong>

I was sitting on the couch, just having gotten out of the shower since I didn't want to smell like dog when Leon would get home in a little while. I was pouting. Upset because my regular famous actor fantasies didn't work for me anymore when rubbing one out in the shower. No, I fantasied about my husband now. Which was bad!

I was still slightly frustrated over how that massage had ended about a week ago. Stupid Tifa. Then again, thank you Tifa, because if she hadn't interrupted I would have done naughty stuff to my husband. My husband I couldn't touch! I pouted some more at that thought alone, the urge to rip his clothes of becoming stronger each day. We needed to keep it platonic though. I was just having some trouble with the 'why' of it.

The doorbell rang, leading me to frown as I got off the couch to go open the door. What was revealed to me wasn't something I liked seeing.

"Rinoa." I clipped out. "Leon doesn't want you here." I don't want you here.

"Leon always wants me here." She said with a smile, pushing passed me to walk into the house.

"Hey!" I pointed at the exit, "I didn't invite you in, get lost!" I wasn't nice like Leon was. To hell with manners, this bitch was going to leave my property! And that included my husband! "He's mine," I wiggled my wedding band in her face, "Out." Woah, jealously alert. Next thing I know, I'd be peeing around the house to mark my territory. Maybe I should get us dogs...

She blinked, taking a step away from me as if frightened, "Alright, I'm sorry. I'll go." Tucking her purse more securely on her shoulder, she raised an eyebrow and clicked her heel, "Could I please use your bathroom before though? I live across the city..."

Grumbling, I nodded, gesturing for her to go up the stairs, "Fine. But make it quick." She gave me a grateful smile that made me want to gag before she whirled around and made her way up the stairs. I waited by the door, tapping my foot impatiently as she did what she needed to do. Not long after she made her way down again.

She was smiling smugly at me as she passed by me to walk out, back to her car, "It is clear you are not what Leon wants."

I rolled my eyes, "Honey, please, I'm so hot, he's never had a better lay." I said pleasantly, "You know that thing he does when he comes?" I whispered at her. She blinked, looking curious as she shook her head at me, not knowing what I was talking about. I didn't know what I was talking about, but that didn't matter. What mattered was, "Of course you don't know because he never let you get in his pants!" I growled out, slamming the door shut in her face before marching back to the couch, putting on some sports so I could try and calm myself by breathing... breathing...

* * *

><p><strong>Leon<strong>

Ahh, finally. Home was quickly becoming my favorite place to be. Not that it hadn't been a nice place to be before, but with Cloud always there and always making me the best dinners, well, I'm not ashamed to say that it made the house seem more welcoming.

We hadn't had another moment like that massage a week ago, but I'd been pretty busy at work and he'd been test driving his new motorcycle sometimes. He kept offering to let me drive it, but I hadn't driven a bike in years. I'd probably crash it. Locking my car and walking up my steps I noticed an odd smell. Was that smoke? Unlocking the door, I was hit by a burning smell and I threw down my briefcase to rush into the kitchen.

"Cloud? Is something burning?" Was it food, or was something on fire? I froze as my eyes settled on him. His arms were crossed, a glare fixed on the frying pan that contained burnt to the crisp steaks. His hair was a disaster and there was a piece of pasta stuck to his cheek that he didn't seem to notice at all. He was angry, I could tell by his stiff posture and how he didn't give me the regular warm welcome he always happily gave me. No... Happy Cloud wasn't here right now.

"Leon." He clipped out, grabbing the frying pan so he could toss it into the sink, steaks and all. He stamped his foot, glaring at me now. Okay...

I gulped, not sure if there was something that I'd done to make him so angry. Had I forgotten something important? "Cloud, are you okay?" Reaching out slowly, I removed the pasta that was stuck to his cheek and raked my eyes worriedly over his body. His eyes blinked out of the glare, watching as I put the piece of pasta in my mouth, chewing it and then grimacing. His shoulders relaxed as he sighed, looking really very tired.

"Your stupid ex popped in for a visit about an hour ago." He muttered out.

The hair on my neck stood up and I shivered. "Rinoa. Did she do or say anything to you? I'm so sorry. I hope you know that I haven't ever said she could come here. What happened?" I glanced around at the obvious disaster that the kitchen was in, wondering if she'd done something to it.

Cloud grumbled, "She said that you always wanted her here after I told her you didn't want her here. Then I went all caveman on her, nearly poking her eye out with my wedding ring to make very clear that you are mine." He paused, blinking up at me, "You know... I was trying to be convincing." He corrected shakily. "Then she asked to use the bathroom. I let her and then she said that I was clearly not what you wanted." I saw a very small pout but he quickly tucked it back in, shrugging, "She left after that. She just..." Looking over his shoulder at the state the kitchen was in, he scratched the back of his head, blushing and smiling sheepishly back at me, "She got to me."

If my reading of body language was accurate, it seemed to me that she had more than just gotten to him. He was jealous. The idea pleased me more than it should, but I couldn't understand why it shouldn't. He was my husband and he didn't want my ex in my life. That sounded very appealing to me. Grinning a little, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him for a quick hug. Releasing him almost immediately, no need to make him uncomfortable, I chuckled.

"Thanks for trying to be convincing. Tell me if she stops by again. One more visit, and the restraining order goes into play. I'm getting rather fed up with her." And I was. I didn't like woman all that much to begin with, and she was making me like them less and less.

Cloud's nose wrinkled before he growled, "Next time she comes over? I'm slapping her." He gave me a curt nod and then turned to go clean up the mess he'd created in our kitchen.

Oh yeah, definitely jealous. And cute. "Okay, I'll order us a pizza and you can take the night off."

* * *

><p><strong>Cloud - two days later<strong>

Pretending I wasn't feeling some sort of crush on Leon was getting really complicated. Since our jobs were so different and we didn't follow similar working hours we only really spent time together when we were in the house together. When we were in the house, we were just the two of us and so we were husband only by name and nothing more. I didn't really want to poke into that territory...

I mean what if what I felt for him was just that sense of home and family he offered me? I'd never called any place 'home' before living here in Leon's house. My house. Our house. What if my attraction to him was more because he gave me that family feeling I'd never been given before? I could try and find out, but that would require me to actually admit my possible crush out loud to him.

What if I fucked it up? I'd have to move out of this place and then I couldn't be around Leon and our marriage would get annulled and then I'd loose the insurance, which strangely enough? I wasn't so worried about lately... But, without insurance, no surgery, without surgery? DEAD.

Knock knock.

Perfect fucking timing. It better not be Rinoa. I'd slaughter her with the mood I was in. I stopped kneading the dough for the bread I was making. I was making sloppy joe's. The baguette was gonna be home made, hence the dough. Placing a humid towel over the lump, I put it in the ray of sunlight by the kitchen window so it could rise and rest before wiping my hands off on my jeans because, sure, I was good in the kitchen, but laundry was a whole other matter altogether. Making my way to the front door, I opened it and blinked at the sight. Well, I didn't know this man... long blue hair, brown eyes with an X shaped scar over the bridge of his nose.

"Hi," I said with a smile, "How can I help you?"

He didn't smile, instead he reached into his suit jacket and removed a card and handed it to me. "My name is Saix. I am an inspector for Aetna Health Insurance. I am looking for a Mr. Cloud Leonhart and a Mr. Squall Leonhart."

I swear to god, Cloud! Keep it together! Don't freak out because he'll know! "Oh." I said calmly. Good boy. "Well, you're at the right address. I'm Cloud. Leon isn't home yet, but he should get here in about ten minutes." I added pleasantly, "Would you like to wait for him? I can get you something to drink." Very, very good!

"Yes, thank you." He followed me inside, glancing around and taking in the surroundings.

"Take a seat," I gestured for the couch, "What would you like to drink?"

"Coffee would be fine, thank you." He unbuttoned his suit so he could sit down normally, setting his briefcase on the ground by his feet.

"I'll have to make a new pot." I warned, making my way to the kitchen, "I'll be right with you." Tossing him a smile, I got into the kitchen, closing the door gently behind me and then let myself panic like I wanted too. Oh my god... Oh my god... SHIT! Okay. Inspections. He... What if he went through the house? Fuck!

Rushing over to the coffee maker, I quickly started it, letting it do it's thing before sprinting out of the backdoor that led into the garden so I could circle the house around the right, getting back in through the garage. Crossing that, I stepped back into the hallway, making sure to not make any noise so Mr. Saix wouldn't know I was like... a few steps away from him. Taking a deep breathe, I slipped up the stairs and then made my way into my bedroom.

Bouncing on spot, I reached up, pulling on my hair in some more panic. Okay... Okay. If he gets up here and sees two separate rooms? Not good. Not good at all! Breathing out steadily, I walked over to my closet, grabbing all my clothes and then proceeded in carrying them into Leon's room. I opened his closet door and then threw mine in there, wincing as I was messing with his clearly well organized closet.

But this was a matter of... something! Running back to my room, I grabbed everything that belonged to me, bringing it to Leon's room and placing it wherever it looked right, making sure to move my toothbrush, hairbrush, razor and shampoo into Leon's bathroom as well. When done, I made my way back down the stairs, through the garage, back into the kitchen and then poured Saix a cup of coffee. Hoping to dear god that he hadn't come into the kitchen while I was gone, I carried the mug out into the living room, plastering a smile on my face so I could place it before him on the coffee table.

I heard Leon's car and I smiled, "Ah, that would be Leon." I said happily. Thank fucking god! Walking over to the front door, I walked up to Leon as he stepped inside the house. "Leon!" I said happily, my back facing Saix so I showed Leon I was freaking the fuck out with big, huge round eyes before plastering myself against him for a hug. Not only did it look good for show, but I really, really needed it because this was stressful.

Immediately aware of what was going on, he stepped forward and pulled me into a hug, kissing my cheek. "Hey, honey. What's for dinner?" With his arm still around me, Leon walked us into the living room together.

Honey? Really? If me and him ever got together, he'd have to be more original, "Sloppy joe's. But we got a guest first. Saix is an inspector for Aetna Health Insurance. He wishes to talk to us both."

Saix stood and offered Leon his hand and a card. "Pleasure to meet you Mr. Leonhart. Please have a seat. I was hoping to ask you a few questions." Leon gave him a pleasant smile and sat down in the recliner while I sat on the end of the sofa closest to him, his hand still holding mine.

Saix glanced at our hands and gave a small smile. "Please don't be alarmed, this is just a preliminary investigation into a statement that was made to our insurance in regards to the legality of your marriage." Bending down and opening the suitcase on the floor he handed me a packet of about three pieces of paper. "What you have in front of you, is a description of the statement and what steps you will need to take in order to settle it, if you so choose. Because we receive all the information from your employer who is the one who has seen your marriage certificate, we will need a copy of it, as well as statements from the witnesses who signed it." Snapping his briefcase closed, he cleared his throat. "This is just a formality. If, however, we find anything amiss with the certificate, proof of tampering, or anything else of the sort, Cloud's insurance will be suspended and you will need to go through legal channels to get it reinstated. Do you have any questions?" He looked at Leon expectantly.

Yes, focus on Leon. He was the together one, he knew how to deal with this. He squeezed my hand in reassurance and I absorbed it gratefully, lacing my fingers through his since... Well. I'd wanted to do that for a while now and now I could without having to admit my attraction to him. I was worried... Leon didn't look it, so I knew I didn't have too, but this was scary. I needed that surgery. If I lost his insurance...

"This all looks fine. I'll have my secretary send the information to your office tomorrow. Will that be all or did you need anything else from us? We definitely want to get this cleared up as soon as possible." Leon's voice was pleasant and I'd imagine him using it to put witnesses and clients at ease.

"Thank you, that will be all." Saix stood up and redid his suit jacket, grabbing his briefcase from the floor. "And we are hoping to get this cleared up as I understand that Cloud is actually in need of medical coverage."

"I have a tumor." I muttered out, that very fact screaming in my mind repeatedly because of the little scare this visit was giving me.

His eyes softened a little and he glanced at Leon. "I'm very sorry to hear that. Please excuse me." Putting his hand out, he shook Leon's hand and then mine. "Congratulations on your marriage and I hope everything turns out for the best." His smile was sincere and we both stood up and went to escort him out.

As we walked around the couch, Leon pulled me close to his chest all of a sudden. "Please excuse me Saix, I have something I need to do." Before I could even think, Leon's lips were on mine, warm and moving, his hand cupping my face to move it in perfect harmony with the kiss. I heard a faint noise that could have been a chuckle come from behind us, but I couldn't focus on that with Leon kissing me.

My hands shot up to his shoulders, fingers clutching his shirt as the blood rushed through me at a speed it never had and I couldn't really control my heart and everything was suddenly very hot. His palm was warm against my jaw, his thumb stroking over my cheek, his lips so soft against my own... I whimpered against his mouth, kissing him back, enjoying the sensations it was giving me. Leon pulled away after a moment, his arms coming around me to hold me close since I'm pretty sure I couldn't stand on my own right now. Kissing the tip of my nose, he smiled down at me and I breathed out shakily.

"Clearly our honeymoon didn't last long enough." I muttered out.

Saix cleared his throat a little, but in an amused way. "They never do." I gave him a smile, feeling a lot more relaxed now, thanks to Leon's kiss. Still tucked against Leon's side, we let Saix out of the door and I sighed heavily, not even caring that the show wasn't necessary anymore as I sagged against Leon. Pressing my face against his chest, I tried to tremble my way through the stress I'd felt in those heavy few minutes.

"Are you okay? How long was he here before I made it home?" Leon sounded worried and his arms were still holding me tightly, obviously not caring about the show either. Pulling my face away from his chest so I could look at him, I opened my mouth to answer, but then winced as a painful sting shot through my muscles. Stiffening, I started to feel faint and then my body started convulsing and I was kicked into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>AN: *Gasp* She gave us the next chapter, but left it as a cliffhanger? How could she?

*shot*


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **

**Alice: *peeks out from behind Reyaa* Are they gone? They're still mad about that cliffhanger thing...**

**Reyaa: They said you were evil...**

**Alice: I couldn't help it! That's where the best chapter divide was...*grumbles* Oh well. This next part should appease them, somewhat...and they should know that I was a complete wreck while writing it...**

**Reyaa: *turns to the readers* I shower you all with cookies and love for the sweet reviews. I'd like to point out that Alice was the one cutting this story up into chapters, so the cliffhanger was not my fault whatsoever. Now hide behind me, Alice. **

**Alice: T_T**

* * *

><p><strong>Leon<strong>

"Cloud? CLOUD!" He was shaking, his whole body racked with convulsions, his eyes rolled up into the back of his head. Shit! He was having a seizure. Trying not to hold him too tightly, but trying to keep him from hurting himself, my heart racing, I dug my phone out of my pocket and dialed 911. I must have given the correct information or at least given them what they needed and I sat back on the ground, the phone lying next to me as I cradled him against my chest and stroked his hair as best I could. "Cloud, shhh, it's okay. Everything's going to be fine. Shhh." Goddammit, this was fucking not good. Had the tumor gotten worse? Was he going to be okay? My whole world narrowed to just Cloud, trying to hold his still shaking body.

"Sir, you need to let go. Sir!" Snapping my eyes up, I saw two emergency services men standing in my doorway, one of them leaning down, trying to remove my arms from around the shaking blonde. I numbly handed Cloud over and they set to work, getting an IV in place and checking his vitals. "How long has he been like this?" The one asked, eyes focused on the instrument that was checking Cloud's racing heart.

"About five or ten minutes." My responses were mechanical and I watched as the convulsions were stopped, and they braced his neck.

"Has this happened before?" They lifted him onto a stretcher and I inhaled sharply as it seemed to swallow him from my view.

"I'm not sure. He has a tumor in his brain." I choked out, eyes only on Cloud as they wheeled him out my front door and down the steps. Finally tearing my eyes away from him, I turned to the paramedic asking me the questions. "Is he going to be okay?" He gave me a serious look.

"We will do everything we can, you have about thirty seconds to get into the back of the ambulance if you are coming with us." With that, he moved past me, spurring me into action. My keys and my phone, nothing else was important. Thank god, I hadn't taken my shoes off. Sprinting down the steps I jumped into the ambulance and they shifted so that I was sitting near his head, my hand on his shoulder, trying to give as much comfort as I could, scared by the unresponsiveness.

"Talk to him. Call his name. If we can get him conscious, that is a good sign." Never taking my eyes off of his face, I reached down and gripped his hand.

"Cloud? Can you hear me? Come on, wake up. We need you to wake up." Squeezing his hand rhythmically, trying to reassure him that I was right there, I spoke softly, leaning in close to his face. I could hear the paramedics radioing the hospital, giving them an ETA and all of Cloud's vital signs. "Come on, Cloud. You can wake up. No worries, everything is going to be fine."

I continued to plead and urge Cloud to just open his eyes, just one, to do something, and before I knew it the ambulance was slowly down, alerting me to the fact that we'd arrived at the hospital. We stopped and the paramedics started to open the doors and I could hear more people outside, talking fast.

"Leon?" Big blue eyes looked up at me, seemingly confused as they darted over the surroundings, his fingers tightening in my grip.

"Cloud?" Oh thank god. "Cloud, you had a seizure. We're at the hospital." I didn't get anything else out before the paramedics jolted the gurney, moving it outside and I dropped Cloud's hand in surprise. I couldn't get out fast enough. "Wait! He's awake! Cloud!" Arms stopped me, and I watched in horror as he was wheeled around a corner and out of my sight.

"Sir! Sir! You can't go back there!" Whirling around, hell bent on decking whoever was stopping me, I blinked as I came face to face with a giant black security guard with a sympathetic expression on his face. "Sir, that is for hospital personal only. I'm sorry, but you'll have to remain out here."

I slumped and he released me, figuring that I wouldn't make a run for the doors again. "Dammit! Fucking all to hell!" Dropping to my knees, I took a moment to compose myself. Come on, Leon. Get a grip. They aren't going to let you back there if you're acting crazy. Deep breath in...deep breath out...Okay. Standing, I glanced around and noticed the reception desk. "Thank you." I said to the security guard, and stomped over to the nurse at the station. "My name is Squall Leonhart, and my husband was just brought in. Here is my information and I would like an update as soon as possible." Slapping down my identification and insurance card, I waited for her to acknowledge me.

"Hospital personal only?" I heard a shriek that was very familiar, "I'm not part of that! If I'm not and you guys let me back in here, then you should allow Squall Leonhart!" An annoyed growl and then I heard stuff clattering to the ground, "I'm fine! The seizure is a side effect to the brain tumor I'm sporting. My surgeon told me that this could happen. Now stop poking around and let me see my husband, damn you fucking all!"

Before I could say anything, the nurse's phone rang and she quickly grabbed it, and listened for a few seconds before nodding and hanging up. "Sir, the doctor wants you back there. Here are your cards back." I growled and grabbed my information, shoving it into my pocket as I went through the double doors. Hearing another set of curse words, I smiled and zeroed in on Cloud's room.

"No! You'll not get my cooperation until you get him in here. I'm a stubborn brat, I warn you! I'll calm down only when you've gotten my hus-" His eyes landed on me and the glare faded as he smiled at me, "Hi Leon!"

"Cloud." My voice was low and I walked quickly to his side, grabbing his hand and leaning down to rest my forehead against his. "Are you okay?" I whispered, ignoring the doctor I could sense was standing on the other side of the bed from me.

His hands reached up, framing my face softly. "Yes. You're here now. I'm sorry if I scared you. I should have warned you about the seizures. It just slipped my mind." He whispered, keeping me close to him.

"No, no, it's okay." Taking a deep breath to compose myself, I reluctantly pulled back and looked at the doctor. "How is he?"

"He is fine, Mr. Leonhart. The seizure didn't do any damage and as Cloud so loudly informed us, it is an unfortunate side effect to the brain tumor." He gave Cloud a pointed look, smiling in an amused fashion, which led Cloud to sheepishly hide his face against my chest. "It was a scare, truly. Just take it easy tonight and I suggest you and Cloud go to see his surgeon in the next coming days so he can instruct you, Squall, on how to deal with future seizures Cloud may have."

"You can call me Leon, actually, and thank you." I pulled away from Cloud to give the doctor a hand shake, hopefully letting him know how grateful I was for letting me back here. "So, I can take him home now? Or are there more tests?"

The doctor chuckled as he looked down at some paperwork, "I'm keeping him a little while longer, I wish to run one more test. Shouldn't take long. I'll have a nurse come to you in a few minutes to do it." He said, giving Cloud a wary look, "You may stay present, Leon, we wouldn't want to scare the nice little nurse with one of Cloud's outbursts like he did the last one..."

"I'm sorry!" Cloud blurted, "I just really needed Leon." He said simply, shrugging his shoulders and clearly not sorry at all.

"Very well." The doctor said, exiting the room to go get the nurse.

I turned back to Cloud, still worried about what just happened. Exhaustion hit me though, and grabbed the chair in the corner and moved it closer to the bed. "Are you sure you're okay? And why didn't you tell me about this, Cloud?" I was slightly hurt, but more worried about him than anything.

He reached out to take my hands but since nobody was in the room, he faltered, retrieving his hands and placing them on his lap. "I honestly forgot. I've sort of been trying to just not think about the tumor at all..." He winced, "It's depressing." Why did he pull back? And then my brain started working again, reminding me that this was not, in fact, my loving husband, but a husband in name only. Right...

"It's okay. Just... let me know if there is anything that I should watch for." I licked my lips, suddenly really nervous about this entire day. "I'm going to call Tifa and have her arrange to have my car brought over. Okay?" Pulling out my cell phone, I quickly called and arranged to have it done. Giving her only the barest of details, I quickly hung up as the nurse came in.

She gave Cloud some kind of cognitive test and then we were free to go. The ride back home was silent and a little bit tense and we were advised that Cloud needed to rest, so I got us some take out on the way. We ate in silence and I wanted to offer to help him upstairs when he said he was tired, but I didn't want to seem overbearing. He disappeared and I started cleaning up our dinner.

Walking into the kitchen I glanced around and noticed a giant mound of what I think was bread dough, slowly growing on the counter. Homemade bread. I glanced up at the ceiling, hearing the shower start and as I started putting it away, I couldn't help but feel cheated that I was married to the perfect guy, and I couldn't do anything about it.

* * *

><p><strong>Cloud<strong>

I pushed up in the tub, letting my head pop out of the surface of the water, breathing in deeply. Leon's bathroom was much nicer then mine... The tub was really big... If I pulled my knees up, Leon could easily fit on the other side. Being my husband that would be a nice little shared moment. Bathing together. Oh, but I couldn't, could I? No! Because he's only my husband in name and that was seriously starting to annoy me to hell and back!

Grumbling, I sighed and the water by my mouth bubbled as I crossed my eyes and tried to relax like the doctor had told me to do and the nurse and Leon too. Tifa too, on the phone. Leon had done so good... Not that it really surprised me since he was an amazing man. So sweet, considerate, generous, smart, handsome and then he took care of me without skipping a beat or hesitating.

That kiss... Reaching up, I pressed my fingers against my lips, smiling softly at the memory. Sure, it had just been for show, but god... I don't think anything had ever felt that good. And although I didn't like seeing him worried, it did something to me when I'd seen him rush to me in the hospital. That he cared so much about me? No one had cared like that for me before. Pouting, I pushed myself out of the tub, stepping out and grabbing a towel. Why couldn't he be my real husband? This was so unfair...

Wrapping a towel around my hips, I used the smaller one to rub the water out of my hair, leaving it on the edge of the sink as I walked over to the door that led into Leon's room. Not knowing where he was, I knocked just in case before opening the door. He wasn't there. Holding onto the towel, I walked over to the closet, opened the door and then pursed my lips as the heap of clothes I'd shoved in there earlier in panic fell out, laying by my feet. Whoops.

Leon cleared his throat beside me, making my spin sideways so I could look at him, gripping my towel more firmly as he leaned against his door frame, eyebrow raised in question.

"I can explain." I told him quickly.

"By all means," He said, waving his hand and smiling softly as his eyes traveled over my nearly naked form, "I'm listening."

I'm pretty sure my entire body blushed with the way his gaze took me in. "Earlier when Saix came over, well... I settled him on the couch and then he wanted coffee, so I let the coffee run and then went out back, through the garage and then up to the second floor. I thought that maybe he'd inspect the house and I didn't want him to get suspicious by seeing that we sleep in two different rooms. So..." I waved at the pile of clothes, "I moved all my stuff in your room. Including my things from my bathroom into your bathroom. I was lazy and I really wanted to use your tub... Which is why I was in here and not in my own bathroom just now." Bad Cloud, you really should have asked. "I'm sorry." I mumbled out nervously.

"Cloud," He was smiling and giving me a gentle look, "It's fine. Totally fine. You can use my bath anytime you want. I don't mind at all." Standing away from the door frame and glancing around his room, he continued to smile. "We'll pick this up tomorrow. Don't worry about it, okay? Just rest." Taking a step backwards, he grabbed the door handle. "I'll let you get dressed and then you can come down. We'll watch a movie or something. Okay?"

"Okay..." I murmured, giving him a quick smile before he closed the door. Dear god, this was getting ridiculous. What I'd really have liked would have been for him to hold me close and sleep beside me. Guess that wasn't going to happen. Sighing, I picked up a pair of comfortable pajama pants, letting the towel drop so I could get dressed and then go down to watch that movie with Leon. Most likely sitting on the opposite end of the couch like we always did. Tomorrow I was going to call Tifa. She'd know what I should do about this situation.

* * *

><p><strong>The next morning<strong>

I always heard Leon's alarm go off in the morning. I didn't have to get up as early as he did and I also got home sooner than him. Today though, it was Friday and I wasn't going to work considering the seizure I'd had yesterday. I figured I was allowed to take a day off. Cid agreed, realizing this tumor deal I was going through was a lot more serious then he thought it had been.

In any case, when Leon's alarm went off, I usually got up as well, making him breakfast because... Well, I really liked making him food and seeing him off to work, however silly that may be. Not this morning though, not after all the awkwardness that had happened yesterday. I needed to talk to Tifa and figure some stuff out before falling back into our routine.

The moment I heard the door slam shut, telling me Leon had gone to work, I slowly went down the stairs and waited for his car to drive off before making my way into the kitchen to prepare myself a cup of coffee while dialing Tifa's number on my cellphone. It rang three times and then she picked up.

"Hey, Cloud. How are you feeling?" Her voice sounded a little worried.

"I'm good," I told her honestly, "Thanks for the concern. Now lets move on from that and help me with something that's..." more important then a seizure caused by my brain tumor? Well. Yeah... I strongly believed my tumor didn't deserve any attention at all. It wasn't going to rule my life. Leon on the other hand... "I think I'm in love with my husband."

"Pardon? Did you just say you are in love with your husband? Your husband, as in Leon?" I couldn't tell if that was disbelief in here voice or if she was just surprised.

I rolled my eyes, "Did I invite you to any of my other weddings? Of course, Leon, you silly twit!" I grumbled, taking a quick sip from my coffee, "It's bad, isn't it? I shouldn't allow myself to be attracted to him. We're only married to make sure I can get coverage concerning the surgery. If I act on these feelings I might put that deal on the line... It should stay strictly platonic. I know this..." I assured her, "But it's so hard. He's so amazing, Tifa... He's sweet and handsome and strong and caring and generous and smart and funny and handsome and-"

"Dear god, Cloud! Shut up, for a second!" She yelled, chuckling a little.

I smiled, "Okay." She was going to think now and find me a solution. She was good at that.

"Okay, first off. I'm well aware of Leon's virtues. Next, please explain to me why you can't love your husband? I thought that the point of marriage was to love your spouse? And don't give me that crap about putting the 'deal on the line.' Leon is not going to back out of it. So what if you actually have feelings for each other? Why should that matter?"

I frowned, shaking my head even if she couldn't see, "It matters because, what if it doesn't work out? We'd have to split up."

"Um, Cloud? You remember that you were planning on getting an annulment and splitting up anyways, right? So the marriage thing is irrelevant as you have already planned on having it annulled. So, go ahead and love your husband, but don't be weirded out about the marriage part. Now, why not give Leon a chance? He's a great guy, and I'm sure he cares about you already. I know it's a bit weird, but give it a shot."

Sighing, I looked around the kitchen, my heart warming at the place. I liked this kitchen and the living room and this house... "But say it doesn't work out, I'd have to move out of this place. I like it here, Tifa."

"Would you like it as much if Leon wasn't there?"

"Damn you. Fine, I'll think about telling him." I muttered. I hung up before she could start gloating, telling me how she was always right. I put my now empty coffee cup in the sink, leaning against the bar as I thought about everything for a little while, letting it run through my mind... If I was going to tell Leon about how I felt for him, he needed to pass one test... One small test. I don't think that the outcome would change much how I felt for him, but... I was curious to see how he felt about this particular thing. Pursing my lips, I pushed away from the bar and then set off the work, putting my plan in motion.

* * *

><p><strong>Later that day<strong>

I tucked my pants up, them being pulled down by the cord that was attached to my belt, the cord leading out the back door which was attached to the thing that was going to test Leon. I was making tacos, just in case he didn't like the test at all. Tacos would make him happy again.

Putting the tacos in the oven, I frowned. What if that didn't work? What if the tacos didn't make him happy and he got angry at me? I didn't want to make him angry. Shit... Even though we were husbands only by name, the big decision I'd made today was something I should have discussed with him. Oh man, I was so stupid... I didn't want to fuck up whatever weird and strange relationship I had going with Leon. Sure, it annoyed the fuck out of me that I couldn't be his real husband, but I didn't want to lose this fake marriage either...

I heard his car park in the driveway and I panicked. Tugging on the cord, I gathered the bundle of fluff in my arms, petting it's head before gently placing it in the stairway closet, hiding it from Leon. I'd smuggle it out when he wasn't looking or something. Closing the door, I groaned as the cord got stuck, leading me to frantically try and untie the knot, but the front door was opening already and Leon was telling me he was home and... Fuck! Turning around I closed the door, leaning against it so it would stay as closed as it could, what with the cord not allowing me to close it completely.

"Hi Leon!" I said pleasantly, trying to remain nonchalant as I leaned against the door.

"Hey, Cloud. How are you feeling today?" He dropped his keys and briefcase on the floor, and started taking his shoes off.

"I'm feeling as good as new," I told him honestly, appreciating the way he cared. "How was your day? Tacos are in the oven."

"It was fine." He stood up, eying me warily. "What are you doing?"

"Just hangin'..." Seriously? That wasn't convincing at all... "Ah, just testing the stability of this wall." What? "Door." Not any better. "I mean. Tacos are in the oven." Yes, repeating one's self is always the good way out. I smacked myself internally but smiled happily at him.

He smiled back, and came closer. "What are you hiding? I find myself wondering if you've done something naughty." Butterflies stormed through my stomach at the way his words sounded so smooth and soft, the look in his eye making me melt.

Gulping, I stared at him with big innocent eyes, "Me? No. I'm never naughty." I frowned as the silly little creature I was hiding was trying to push it's way out. It was gonna rat me out! "You should go to the kitchen. Dinner will get cold." I told him nervously.

Looking at the door, he smirked and went to reach for the handle. "Cloud, I'm pretty sure dinner will be okay. What do you have in here?"

Stepping to the side to block him from reaching the door handle, I shrugged, "Nothing at all. Come on, let me give you another massage." If distracting him through his stomach couldn't work then maybe some sensual touches that would torture me for another month would.

Tilting his head to the side, he gave me a funny look. "As tempting as that sounds, I think I'd rather find out whatever it is you are trying to hide first."

I groaned, "Damn you." He wasn't going to give up, was he? "Fine. If none of that worked, maybe this will get your attention away from the stairway closet." I told him seriously, feeling my heart beat pick up in speed. "Leon, I..." I'd never told anyone this... I wanted to tell Leon though, "I like you. More then a friend." I told him softly, feeling my cheeks heat as I looked at him carefully, trying to read his expression. There was a beat of silence and before he could react, there was a... Bark. "Hey! Don't steal my thunder!" I glared as I turned, opening the door so I could pick the little fluffy puppy up into my arms, petting her as I shook my head at her. She'd been dropped off at the shelter two weeks ago. No one had come to claim her. She was a husky, beautiful and so very sweet.

I heard Leon gulp and clear his throat. "Is that...a puppy? It looks like a wolf..." He sounded nervous.

She had stolen my thunder! Glaring down at the cute little flee bag, I couldn't help but hug her gently before offering her to Leon. "It's a husky, not a wolf. They're close family though, but husky's are actually very nice dogs. She's only four months old. I..." I cleared my throat, "I sorta adopted her this afternoon."

Never taking his eyes from her, he licked his lips and slowly reached out to take her from me. Cradling her against his chest, he was absently petting her with a look of wonder on his face.

"What's her name?" He whispered softly. I bit onto my bottom lip, tilting my head as I looked at him and the puppy. She liked him. Leon grimaced at first when she licked his cheek, but then gently pushed her back down against his chest, chuckling as he let her lick his hand instead.

"She doesn't have a name." I told him softly, smiling as he couldn't take his eyes off her, "You can name her."

"Shiva. Is that a good name, do you think?" Finally breaking his eyes away from her, he looked at me earnestly. "I've never had a pet before." He said sheepishly.

"I love it!" I told him happily, "And that's okay. I'll teach you." Grinning, I reached over and gently took Shiva out of his arms, leading him to frown at me as I put her on the floor, untying the knot from the collar and my belt to let her walk around freely. "She's going to be a big dog, Leon. You can carry her sometimes, but not too often. Don't make it a habit or else you'll regret it when she weighs 30 kilos and her back alines with the middle of your thigh." I told him, chuckling as I stood back up, watching Shiva sit down beside Leon's feet.

"Okay. I see your point." He knelt down and scratched her behind the ears. "Okay, now that the hidden thing has been revealed," Standing up and suddenly invading my space, his eyes staring into mine. "What were you saying about liking me?"

And my heart was racing again, palms sweaty as I took a step back, my back pressing against the door, but Leon just stepped closer to me. I swallowed nervously, darting my eyes down to the ground. "I... Well. You heard that?" I chuckled nervously, "I was just saying that to distract-" I cut myself off, rolling my eyes as I crossed my arms and gave Leon a pointed look. "Oh, who am I kidding. Fine. I like you, alright? And I know that the whole marriage thing requires us to be platonic or something, but I seriously don't understand why anymore."

Leon smiled and stepped even closer and I felt his breath ghost over my face. "You do realize that there should never be anything platonic about marriage, right?" He had me completely backed up against the hall closet door now, his arms coming up and resting against the door on either side of my head. "And what a surprise. I like you too."

Uncrossing my arms, I gulped at how close he was, my eyes hooding as I stared down at his lips. I slowly slipped one arm around his back, my lips parting as my breathing already picked up even though we weren't really doing anything. That's how strongly I felt for him. Just his close proximity could fog my brain, my body flushing hot and my breathing erratic. Licking my lips, I placed my other hand lightly against his neck, tilting my head to the side and up, letting my lips touch his ever softly. I trembled at the touch, even if we had kissed before, this wasn't for show, this was for us.

"Leon..." I whispered, pressing my lips a bit more firmly against his. Moaning, never breaking the kiss, Leon dropped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me closer. It was slow and sweet, his lips parting and his tongue softly lapping at mine. Goosebumps broke out over my skin, a delightful shiver running down my spine as I pressed myself even closer to him, fingers clutching his shirt as I returned the soft kiss. I don't think my heart would ever settle down after this, I didn't really care though. His arms tightened around me as my legs felt weak, my body falling against him as I just melted into the kiss entirely.

Abruptly the kiss ended, as Leon pulled back and looked at me worriedly. "Cloud, you feeling okay? Light-headed?" His voice was frantic and he was leaning me against the door and checking my head.

I looked up at him, smiling happily as I nodded my head, feeling beyond dazed. "I'm very okay. I am light-headed." I told him, humming in appreciation, "The awesome kind..." I added in a whisper, "Please continue." Pressing up onto my tip toes, I offered him my lips again. A bark interrupted us though, making me frown through my daze. Blinking, I looked down at Shiva sitting by our feet, her head tilted up as she happily wagged her tail and demanding attention while her tongue stuck out from the left side of her open mouth.

Leon gently tilted my chin back up with his finger before bending down to give me another kiss, lingering for just a second before pulling back and smiling. "Okay. Teach me about puppies, Cloud. And we'll continue this later. Yeah?"

Slipping my hand up to place my palm against his cheek, I guided his face down, giving him another kiss because I just couldn't get enough, "Okay. That was the last one. Promise." Smiling at him, I then looked down at Shiva, "Come on, silly girl. Lets show Leon how fast you can run." I told her excitedly. I might as well have said 'Stupid dog, you are a bitch, lets kill you!' in that same tone of voice and it wouldn't have made a difference to her. But... Yeah. She jumped up excitedly, spinning in a circle before racing off to the back door. She knew that's where we went out since I'd taken her out to the back all day now.

Laughing a little at her antics, Leon looked at me, then down at my hand lacing his fingers through mine. "Let's go teach her how to fetch!"

* * *

><p><strong>Leon - about a week later<strong>

I felt Cloud rest his hand gently on my bouncing leg, trying to silently tell me that I was distracting other people in the waiting room. Blushing, I took a deep breath and quit bouncing my knee before resting my hand on top of his. It was a little over a week after his seizure and he'd made an appointment to talk to his neurosurgeon.

I'd insisted that I would be there, not that he was trying to stop me, but I wanted him to know that I was taking this very seriously. And I was. He was my husband, the term now causing fluttery feelings when I thought about it, and plus, he was my friend. We'd obviously skipped the boyfriend and fiance phase and even the honeymoon phase, but that didn't make my feelings for him any less real. They were just new. New to me and new to him apparently, and I was excited to find out that it wasn't that hard to be his husband.

We still slept in separate rooms, but only because we were taking things at a slower pace. Or I was. I was concerned for him, not sure if the excitement of having Saix stop by had been the trigger for the seizure and so I didn't want to put him under any emotional stress. Thankfully, Shiva was a very calming presence and an adorable distraction.

I'd always wanted a pet growing up, but my parent's weren't always home, and they didn't think that I could take care of one. And as I got older, it seemed sort of childish to want a puppy. So, I'd kept my desire hidden deep and figured I would never be one of those people who had an animal. Cloud found it extremely hilarious at my obvious lack of knowledge about dogs, insisting that Shiva did not need to share our dinner with us even though she was begging. Apparently, table scraps were not healthy and could lead to canine obesity and diabetes. Who knew?

Feeling Cloud squeeze my once again bouncing leg, I decided that I didn't care if people expected the waiting room to be quiet, I couldn't take the silence. "What time was the appointment again?" I asked, poking Cloud in the side.

He squirmed away from my finger, a short giggle escaping him for which he glared at me for, clearly not happy I'd found out about that trick. "Two thirty. It's two twenty nine now." He murmured, flicking the tip of my nose as he grinned at my impatience.

I covered my nose, rubbing it so I wouldn't sneeze on him and glared. "What's your doctor's name again? Has he had any lawsuits filed against him in the last five years? What are his credentials?"

Cloud's eye twitched, "Never thought I'd be married to a lawyer..." He mumbled somewhat amused at my chaining questions, as if ready for an interrogation, "Dr. Gizeh. Zexion Gizeh. He doesn't have a wise wrinkly forehead or a smart looking beard. He's between your age and mine I'd say." I knew why he was telling me this, afraid I wouldn't think this Zexion Gizeh was good enough because of his young age, "Tifa said he was the best in the city." Cloud then added, shrugging as he figured that should say all.

I relaxed just a little. Tifa was even better than I was at digging up dirt on someone. If she said he was the best in the city, then he was the best in the city. That still didn't calm my nerves and I glanced at the clock again and bit my tongue as it was now only two thirty one. The other two people in the waiting room were obviously not here to see the same doctor as one was on crutches and the other had a broken arm.

"Cloud, when did he say the best time to do the surgery was? The sooner the better right?"

"Yeah, but since my case isn't as urgent as others, he popped me into his schedule after the more severe cases." Cloud said, shrugging his shoulder again, clearly trusting the doctor completely.

"I guess." I trailed off, not sure if I was okay with that, but I wasn't sure what logic I could use to argue it. From the hallway in the far right corner appeared a man, and I knew it was Cloud's doctor since Cloud stood from his chair, giving the blue haired guy a quick smile. Zexion Gizeh returned it gently, tugging on his white coat as he moved over to him, offering his hand which Cloud took. Turning in my direction, he sent Cloud a questioning look and Cloud was about to explain, but I had to cut in.

"Oh my god! Are you seriously contemplating cutting in my husband's brain with just one eye visible?" Okay, that was probably rude...

Dr. Zexion's one eye blinked and then he frowned at Cloud, "Who the hell is this guy?"

Cloud pressed his lips together, smothering a grin, "Ehm. This is Squall Leonhart, just Leon will do fine. He's my husband." Cloud sent me an amused yet warning look as he took my hand, pulling me onto my feet. "He's a teensy bit nervous about all of this, so you have to forgive him the occasional snarky comment."

Zexion nodded, taking my hand and shaking it, "I get it. As for the hair, I tie it back." He reassured, "Come along then." He turned, making his way back to the hallway which most likely led to his office. Biting my tongue, I wisely kept my mouth shut, not wanting to make a bad impression on the guy who was going to cut open Cloud's skull.

His office was neat and reminded me a little of a lawyers office. Diplomas behind the desk, easily visible to reassure the client, leather chairs for people to sit on, and a comfortable looking chair for him behind his desk. Motioning us to sit down, he walked around the desk to take his seat. I kept quiet and waited for him to explain some things to Cloud before I butted in and asked the questions I was curious about.

Zexion smiled at Cloud, flipping open what I assumed to be Cloud's documents concerning the state of his tumor, "So I hear the tumor decided to tickle your brain." He scanned his eye over the paperwork, most likely sent from the hospital Cloud had landed in after the seizure,and then nodded, "Well. Everything looks fine, like the doctor told you there. It's a pretty common side effect when it comes to the evil hitchhiker your brain is carrying right now. I can't do anything about them. They'll be gone after the surgery, definitely removed along with the tumor. But there's no need for you to go to the emergency room every time it happens." He looked at Cloud and then at me, "You live together, yes?"

Cloud nodded and Zexion then nodded, "Right. So I'll give Mr. Leonhart some instructions on how to position you in case you get another one and how to calm yourself, Leon, in case you panic. Seizures are quite an impressive sight, so it makes sense if they frighten you a bit." He told me gently, "I'll also give you a list. It contains a number of symptoms you'll need to look out for once the seizure is passed. Go over them and make sure you, Cloud, aren't bothered by any of these symptoms. If you so happen to have a slight doubt, you instantly go to the hospital. All makes sense, yes? Questions?"

I cleared my throat before voicing my question. "Are there any other things we should be looking for besides seizures? Any other symptoms that would indicate that tumor is doing harm?"

Zexion pursed his lips, nodding before looking at Cloud "If the head aches get worse, almost too painful to bear? You'll need to do a quick check up with me. Considering the size of your tumor, this will most likely not occur. Other things you want to look out for is if you actually get woken in the middle of the night by a headache. In the morning when you wake? If you vomit, that is another one you want to look out for. Again, the size of your tumor isn't one we really need to worry about, but I'll make sure to put these on the list as well so you can keep an eye on them."

I mentally made a note of everything he said, and I'd make sure to pass the instructions on to Tifa just in case. It was making sense and I was getting less worried when he kept reminding us that Cloud's tumor wasn't large enough to really be a threat. I had a few more questions about the actual procedure though.

"Can you tell us about how the procedure is going to go? How long and the recovery time?"

"Very simple." Zexion said easily, clearly sure in what he did, "Cloud will have to come in a day prior to the actual surgery. No food for twenty-four hours and then a nurse will come in to prep him and put him under. As you are married, Leon may remain in Cloud's room to wait. It won't take more then two hours. Recovery on the other hand...Cloud will have to stay in the hospital for two to three weeks, and we'll keep a close eye on the healing process of his skull in that time before sending him home."

Cloud gripped my hand suddenly and I saw him gulp as I looked in his direction, "Oh man... I didn't think about that. Of course you're cutting into my skull... How else would you reach the brain?" He mumbled out, his face paling considerably.

I squeezed his hand hoping to reassure him a little. "Where are you going to make the incision?" Really, I didn't want to alarm Cloud anymore, but the more I knew about it, the better I would feel. And two to three weeks? That was going to suck. I resolved to get that time off of work so I could be by his side the entire time.

"Cloud's tumor is located on the Occipital Lobes. That is..." He picked up a pen, tapping the location of it on the plastic brain displayed on his desk, "most posterior, at the back of the head." He explained, "It's the 'compartment' of the brain that handles your vision." Okay, he was giving me all the details now, good, "Were Cloud not to have noticed the tumor he could have had difficulty locating objects and identifying colors had the tumor had the chance to grow. Random production of hallucinations, visual illusions and the inability to recognize words and some issues with reading and writing." He leaned forward, turning the brain and then pointing at a specific spot on the area he'd called the 'Occipital Lobes', "This is where I'll drill a tiny hole into the skull and then make way for me to cut out the tumor before any of the earlier mentioned happens."

I gulped and felt a little queasy at the description. It sounded horrible and Cloud had to have that happen to him? I squeezed his hand one more time and glanced over at him. He seemed to be taking the news better than I was and I smiled softly at him. Turning back to the doctor, I asked, "And how soon can we do this? I just want to make sure my schedule is clear so I can be here."

Zexion pursed his lips, using his pen to press a button on his phone.

"Doctor?"

"When do I have Cloud Strife scheduled for?" Zexion asked his assistant, "Change his last name to Leonhart, please." he added. And yes, I felt like puffing out my chest at that, but I restrained myself. We heard a ruffle of papers, his assistant most likely looking for the date and in that time Cloud brought my hand up to his lips, kissing the back of it before giving me a quick and somewhat nervous smile. He seemed to be doing okay.

"Mr. Cloud Leonhart is scheduled for the third of June, doctor."

"Thank you, Namine." Zexion murmured, ending the call. "That's in a month and a half." he then told us.

Putting that date in my memory, and I'd make sure to tell my assistant as soon as I got back to work. I would take off at least a month, maybe more to be with Cloud. "Thank you for your help, doctor. Is there anything else we need to know?" I wanted to take Cloud out to dinner tonight. Something to take our minds off of this.

Zexion shook his head, "Not my knowledge. That is all you needed to be informed off. Here is the list I told you about, take it with you. I'll take five minutes of your time to show you how to position Cloud when having a seizure before you leave."

We were a bit subdued as we left the office, me trying to remember everything that he'd told us, and Cloud...I'm not sure how worried he was. He was pretty composed about it and I held his hand on the way to the car, and during the drive back to the house. Maybe I'd just order us something nice from the restaurant down the street and relax a little on the couch.

"Cloud? You okay if I order us some dinner? We can just relax tonight?" I was making it a habit to squeeze his hand to add a little something extra to whatever I was saying.

He nodded, "Yes, that sounds nice. No horror movie tonight, please?" He asked softly, squeezing my hand back.

Shaking my head, I gave him a small smile. "No, just something to fall asleep to. I've got tomorrow off and so do you. Let's just enjoy it."

* * *

><p><strong>Cloud<strong> **- a couple of days later**

I knew Leon quite a bit by now and this is why I was standing in front of the large building that contained the firm he and Tifa worked for. Shiva was on a leash that was clipped to my belt, a hot taco in a box in one of my hands, while I reached down with the other to pat Shiva on the head, smiling as she shoved her nose up against my palm asking for more pets.

"Come on." I told her walking towards the entrance, Shiva bouncing beside me happily. Of course the security guard eyed the dog strangely, but he didn't stop me either. Passing the receptionist desk that was ringing with many, many different phones, I made my way to the elevator, internally snickering at the grimaces and nasty faces sent at Shiva. Sure, I could have taken the stairs, but that wouldn't have been as funny.

So I reached down, scratching her behind the ear so she would sit down. She was quite calm, curious, but too big of a wuss to actually sniff each person that walked by or try and get them to give her attention. She had no issue pressing herself up against my leg and just staying there until we arrived on the floor Leon's office was on. I'd never actually been to his office. I knew where it was though since he'd mentioned it and it was on his business card which there were plenty off back at home. Stepping out of the elevator, I quickly made my way through, passing lots of office doors until I arrived at the right one. Knocking, I let myself in and smiled at Leon's secretary.

"Mr. Leonhart is quite busy at the moment. Would you like to make an appoint-" She cut herself off, eying Shiva warily.

"He's not busy. He's stressing out because of this lady right here," I pointed at Shiva, "and won't be able to get back to work until he's seen her with his own eyes." I grinned at the woman, "I also brought him a taco."

She sighed in relief, giving me a grateful smile, "Mr. Leonhart." She greeted and I liked that she knew who I was, "Thank you for saving this miserable day so far." She giggled, waving at the door before me so I could cheer Leon up. Making my way over, I knocked softly before opening the door carefully, not exactly sure how bad his mood was...

"Dammit!" He heard him mumble and I heard a drawer slam shut, followed by another one, as if he was searching for something in his desk.

"Leon?" I asked tentatively, tugging on the leash so Shiva would come in with me. I closed the door behind me as Leon turned around to face us.

"Cloud?" He smiled and stood up to walk over to us, glancing at Shiva then back up at me. "Did everything go okay? She's fine right?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Yes, she's fine. Vaccine shots were successfully and harmlessly done and she is now officially chipped, meaning we'll always find her if she ever runs off or gets lost." Shiva bounced over to Leon, tail waggling as she was happy to see her other man, "See? She's fine. I told you she would be." I grinned as Leon crouched down, giving Shiva a big hug. "Figured you needed to see it for yourself. I also brought you a taco because what with stressing over Shiva, you probably forgot to eat lunch."

Obviously not caring that he had some dog hair on his Armani suit, he rubbed her ears and laughed when she raised a paw to shake. He'd been a little overenthusiastic about teaching her as many tricks as he could. Releasing her, he stood up and wrapped his arms around me, giving me a deep kiss, tongue and all, in thanks.

Smiling into the kiss, I snaked my arms around his neck, melting against his body, moaning softly as his hand gently rested on the back of my head, keeping me still so he could deepen the kiss some more. Heart racing, my body overheating and my dick now hard as rock, I broke away, catching my breath, as I pressed my face into the crook of his neck.

"I hate that you want to take things slow." I whined. I knew why he was and being the lawyer that he is, he always had very reasonable excuses for delaying the event until further notice.

I could hear the grin in his voice and he just chuckled, content to just stand and hold me in his arms. "As much as I would love to list all of my reasons, again, I am a starving working man. Feed me." Releasing me and giving me one more quick kiss, he went to sit down on the couch that was set up in the back of his office.

Still horny as hell, I tilted my head, sighing at his lovely ass before it vanished from my view as he needed it to sit down on that couch. "Those suits are ridiculously expensive. But man..." I sighed happily, walking over to him so I could give him his taco as I sat down beside him, pushing Shiva down so she wouldn't climb up. "Your ass looks amazing in them." I told him shamelessly. This happened without my brain's permission when I was horny. I wasn't all that shy anymore. And, maybe if I pushed and teased him enough verbally, he'd give in physically.

"Thank you for that." He blushed a little and opened the bag to get out his lunch. "I feel obligated and priveliged to tell you that your ass also looks amazing in those jeans. But even saying that will cause a noticeable reaction in my pants that is clearly visible to the public and I'm just not going to say anything else." Grinning at me, he winked before settling in and eating his taco.

"Leon..." I whined, again, "I'm not going to pass out because of a little orgasm!" I told him. He was too worried sometimes, "Seriously. You know what might give me a seizure though? These spontaneous hard-ons that pop up to salute me several times a day! Sexual frustration is an awful kind of stress." I crossed my arms, giving him a stubborn pout.

He scowled and hurriedly chewed the bite he'd just taken, clearly wanting to say something. Swallowing finally, he cleared his throat. "Cloud, that isn't really stress, so don't even try and pull that with me." He grinned a little. "And I understand your frustration, I really do. But let's just ease into this. How about we take a couple of days off next week, and we'll do whatever you want." Holding up his hand to stop my immediate response, he finished. "And we'll see what happens, okay?"

I groaned, "I have to schedule sex?" I asked in disbelief. "Damn you, Squall Leonhart. For the scheduling and taking away my awesome form of retaliation. I was hoping you'd jump me and then I could stop you and tell you how unethical it would be for us to do naughty stuff in your office. And, if that hadn't worked? I would have asked you if you'd be able to look at your couch and work seriously with clients while having the memory of me coming all over it branded upon your brain!" I growled, "You, my dear husband, are a fucking saint." Leaning over, I kissed him, making sure he knew I wasn't too angry, but it was hard to not sound angry when I wasn't getting what I wanted.

"Okay, you are not allowed out of this office for the next twenty minutes." Leon took another bite and I had to wait for him to swallow before he would elaborate. Rolling his eyes, he glanced down at his lap moving a little and pointing out a rather obvious problem that was now visible. "I can't walk you outside while I'm like this, and as soon as you leave, someone will come in to ask about Shiva, and I am not going to hide behind my desk. So, sit and no more talking about you coming all over my couch." He winked and took another bite.

"Oh fine. I'll behave." I muttered, leaning in so I could lick some hot sauce off the corner of his mouth. When I pulled away, Leon's eyebrow was raised, "What? It was right there! Fine. Now I'll behave." Letting him finish his taco in peace for a bit, I gave Shiva some attention, waiting for him to be done before attacking him with my next want. A napkin flew across my line of vision, landing in the trash and that was my cue. Turning towards him, I gave him a sweet smile. Of course he knew instantly I wanted something. "I said I'd behave!" I reminded him, "I just..." Licking my lips, my cheeks heated a bit and I shuffled closer to him so I could press my face into the crook of his neck, "If I promise not to ravage you silly, can I please sleep in your bed with you at night? I don't like sleeping in separate rooms."

I felt his Adam's apple bob and his arms came around me, his lips hovering above my ear. "That would be okay. I like that idea." Arms holding me close, I heard a small moan as our bodies pressed against each other.

Popping my head up, I gave him a pointed look, "Don't moan. I can't behave if you moan. Your moans make me moan."

* * *

><p>AN: T_T There is more to come...

Pun intended ^_^


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Because ffnet is not letting us respond to your reviews, just know that we read each one and we are saving the emails so that we can hopefully respond to them soon...it's frustrating though. In response to a question, this will have 5 chapters altogether. XD **

* * *

><p><strong>Leon - Later that day <strong>

Cloud stopping by my office had brought some excitement to my day, and my secretary was half in love with Shiva as well as most of the other females who'd had the chance to see her. She really was the best dog, smart and easy going, and it just made me want to hug Cloud and thank him again every time I saw her. My secretary was also impressed with Cloud, making a remark about how she looked forward to letting him into my office instead of other people who shall remain nameless.

I'd also realized that I wasn't staying as late as I used to, mainly because I wanted to get home now. Home to Cloud and Shiva and a life outside work. Amazing. At five o'clock every day now, I was out the door and on my way home, work easily forgotten and left behind. Today especially, since I knew that I could look forward to sharing a bed with Cloud tonight. Maybe he'd also move his stuff into my room again. I really hadn't minded the first time. It had thrown me for a loop certainly, but not an unpleasant one.

Ahh. I grinned as I turned down my street, I thought about just moving his stuff again without giving him a chance. Yup, that sounded like the best idea. Our house came into view and I frowned when I spotted Rinoa's car in my driveway. What the fuck was she doing here?

Parking the car quickly, I got out and frowned as I saw the following. Rinoa had her hands propped up onto her hips glaring at Cloud, while he stood square into the door frame, looking beyond pissed off. Shiva popped her head out curiously from between Cloud's legs, looking up at Rinoa who took a step back from the dog.

"What is that?" She shrieked.

Cloud raised an eyebrow, "Don't you know? You and her have a lot in common."

"And what would that be?" Rinoa asked disbelieving.

"You're both bitches!" Cloud shouted at her.

"What the hell is going on here?" I shouted, leaving my briefcase in the car and taking quick steps up the front porch.

"Leon!" Rinoa said happily, whirling around so she could rush up to me. Cloud groaned, hanging his head as he sat down beside Shiva. Rinoa smiled at me as she stood close before me, "Did you have a good day?" She then glared at Cloud and Shiva behind her, "That silly husband of yours is truly, very rude!" She snarled at him.

"You are on my property!" Cloud shouted back, "Leon, get her out of here or I'm letting Shiva loose!" He paused. "Worse! I'll let myself loose!"

"Rinoa, what the fuck do you think you are doing here? I've told you over and over to not come to my house. Leave before I have Cloud sick the dog on you." God damn her for ruining my day. I felt my eyes narrow and I was two seconds from calling the cops, seriously, if she even so much as resisted.

She blinked, "Don't you want me to make you tacos?"

"Oh hell fucking no!" Cloud shouted, jumping up onto his feet so he could storm over here, "My husband, my man!" His hand shot down and he grabbed my crotch, "My fucking balls!" He pushed her away from me, "My tacos!" He added in a shout, throwing his hands up in frustration and then stepping behind me, his hand clutching my shirt as he tried to calm himself down, most likely telling himself not to hit a woman.

"You let him manhandle you like that?" She shrieked at me, and Cloud's fingers tightened on my shirt. One look at Cloud was all it took and I whipped out my phone and dialed 911 for the second time in a month.

"I'm calling the cops Rinoa. This is the last fucking straw." And I ignored her, telling the dispatcher my information, as they assured me they'd be there in less than two minutes. Cloud's hand relaxed instantly as I hung up the phone, giving him a nod to let him know it was in motion. Sighing, he gave me a quick smile before settling into my side.

"Thank fucking god." He muttered against my chest. I wrapped my arms around him, keeping an eye on the crazy bitch in front of me. If she took one more step towards me, or touched either one of us, I'd sue her for assault and ruin her. This had better be the last time I ever saw her. Maybe as a part of the restraining order, I should push for mandatory counseling...

"Do you need me with the cops?" Cloud asked tiredly, "Or can I go inside and soak?" That meant a bath, which meant he needed a moment to ease himself down.

As much as I wanted to let him go, the cops would want to take his statement. I'd push to let him leave first though. "I'm sorry, but they'll want to talk to you after they cuff her. But, I'll tell them to get yours first and then you can go soak." And speaking of the cops...

Flashing lights and sirens were suddenly everywhere and I turned Cloud around and tucked him into my side, hiding him away from the world as best I could. I glanced at Rinoa to see if she was going to run, halfway hoping she'd get tackled as tasered. She didn't look upset, instead she looked confident; confident she'd get out of this mess. Which, come the next day, I would make sure she couldn't. As she was so certain, she didn't put up a fight or anything, which would work in her favor, but she wasn't getting out of this that easily. Settled in the car, the cop closed the door after her and then walked over to us, ready to take our statements.

"Okay, why don't you tell me what happened." The officer got out his pad of paper and looked at us expectantly.

"First off, this is Cloud Leonhart, my husband. He is not feeling well, so please let him explain and then he needs to go up and rest." My tone did not leave any room for argument and it's a damn good thing that he nodded and turned to Cloud.

"From the top, sir."

"She's Leon's ex. She strongly believes he still has feelings for her, that he's not gay and that I'm..." Cloud shrugged, "A lot of nasty words I'm not going to repeat. In any case. She came to mine and Leon's house a couple of weeks back, inviting herself in. And today she was about ready to do the same, but I didn't let her which is where she got nasty again up until Leon got home from work." He explained dutifully.

The police officer jotted some stuff down and then nodded. "Okay, that should be fine for now, you are free to head inside, and I'll just get the rest from your husband. Thank you."

I kissed Cloud quickly and gave him a gentle push towards the door. "Go and reassure Shiva and take a bath. I'll be inside in a bit." He turned to go do that, but then spun around, gave me another kiss before went inside to do as I had suggested.

Watching him until he was all the way in, I turned back to the officer and after giving him my card, I explained as much as I could, detailing her harassment and giving names of people who could act as witnesses. I'd been thinking about this for a while now, and most of this information had been gathered to put on the restraining order, so this would just be a perk. After just a few minutes of answering questions, he shook my hand and drove away, Rinoa staring at me through the glass. I scowled and flipped her off, hoping she wouldn't take that as an invitation. Turning around, I headed back inside to be with the real victim of this, Cloud. If Rinoa stressed him out enough to cause a seizure, I was really going to press charges. Bitch.

* * *

><p><strong>Cloud<strong>

Man alive, I am feisty! Where I gotten the courage to grab onto Leon's balls and claim them as my own? No idea, but that had been awesome! Of course, the whole situation didn't make me happy. Definitely not. Especially because she'd had the guts to call me a charity case right before Leon had gotten onto the scene. But that didn't matter. It had stung, but it wasn't important because I wasn't a charity case. Leon didn't see me as such and I knew that.

I'd reassured Shiva and had taken a pretty long bath like Leon had instructed for me to do. I'd been glad to soak in the warm water for a long while, letting all that rage I'd felt towards Rinoa fade away. Trying to ease down my stress a bit too, since I'm pretty sure heavy stress wasn't such a good idea for my brain at the moment.

Leon had ordered us pizza and by the time I got down it had already gotten there. After finishing up I'd told him that I simply wanted to go to bed. I just wanted to lie in his arms and feel good. So that's what I was doing now, pulling my shirt over my head but leaving the pajama bottoms on as I pushed the big cozy blanket aside so I could settle under it. Leon doing pretty much the same on the other side of the bed.

The moment he was lying down, I moved closer to him. His bed was really huge... Anyway, I settled my head on his chest, placing a leg over his, my palm resting on his chest as he wrapped his arms around me. This felt so right... Our relationship had started out somewhat... creatively, original? Weird, I guess. It had been awkward too. I grinned at the memory of how I'd ended up here.

"Leon?" I asked softly, "What did you think of me when we first met?" And this was why I was grinning, "You know, when we got married?"

He sighed and nuzzled my head a little. "I thought you were very good looking. Cute. And it was almost impossible for me to imagine someone as amazing as you to have a brain tumor." He paused. "And then when Rinoa tried to talk to us? I felt so protective of you, it made me a little nervous." Rubbing my arms a little, he hummed. "What about me?" He asked softly.

I chuckled, "Well, when Tifa showed me your picture before the wedding? I didn't believe a guy as hot as you could possibly be gay." I sighed happily, tilting my head up so I could place a soft kiss against his jaw, "When I first saw you in the chapel? I was a bit intimidated and nervous about the whole situation too. Your photograph didn't really do you justice..." I confided, "Your voice was very calming and your eyes so sweet. Oh and then when you said 'I do'?" I smacked his chest lightly, chuckling, "You looked at me so... I don't know, but it made my knees go weak." I told him honestly.

Bringing up one of his hands to hold my own against his chest, he kissed my forehead. "I'm thinking that Tifa has masterminded this entire thing so that we'd meet." He chuckled and then brought my hand up to kiss the back of it. "I didn't really know I would end up feeling this strongly for you, but you seem to light up the entire house when you're here. I don't ever want you to leave." He murmured.

I never would, not if I had a say in it. And... I didn't want our marriage to be annulled. I realized that it had been awkward and strange, but... I liked it. It was my wedding with Leon and it meant a lot to me. I didn't dare tell him this though... I hadn't even told him that I loved him yet.

"I love you..." Okay, so apparently I was telling him now. Stiffening at my own words, I moved my head up so I could look at him, feeling a bit frightened.

His face looked a little shocked and I feared that I'd gone to far. But, then as quick as a thought, he smiled, a bright one that lit up his entire face. "I love you too, Cloud. Funny how the whole marriage thing works. Who knew we would go about it backwards..." Leaning down he captured my lips in a gentle kiss. I wasn't fooled though. His heart was racing and his muscles were tense, telling me he was not feeling gentle at all.

Propping myself up so I could lie partly on top of him, I kissed him a bit more deeply before breaking away for a second, "I'm not made out of glass, Leon, if you want me then take me." I whispered, my own heart beating faster, "I want you too." I said against his lips.

"Fuck, Cloud. Fine, but no whining about how I take you." His lips pressed back against mine and he rolled me under him, letting his hands roam over my sides, gently sliding down and around to grip my bottom.

I moaned, chuckling, "Fucking finally!" I parted my legs so he could settle between them, my thighs coming around his hips as I welcomed the feverish kiss he gave me, my hands moving over his back, exploring every inch of his skin with soft touches.

Pulling back for just a second, he gave me a stern look, trying to keep his smile hidden. "Blowjob. Okay? That's all your getting tonight because we both have work tomorrow. Deal?"

"I love blowjobs." I agreed easily, pulling his face back down so he could keep kissing me like he did so well. Letting my fingers slide into his hair, I tugged on the locks gently, my lips parting as I caught my breath for a second, feeling all kinds of hot and him on top of me like this fried my brain to wonderland in the most awesome way. Rocking my hips up to create some friction I desperately needed, I moaned softly as I finally got it. "Hmm... I'm so hot for you right now, even a pants on dry hump would do the trick." I told him, and it was the truth. I was so horny, I wasn't gonna last long at all.

"Sounds like an amazing idea." Leon gasped out, between kisses and his hips starting picking up speed, and moaning into my lips.

"Hey!" I tried to sound firm, but it was a bit hard to concentrate right now, what with him very intent on blowing our minds out, "What about my blowjo-" He jerked his hips roughly into my own, my head falling back so I could moan at the ceiling, his lips now pressed against my throat. "Okay." I agreed, my hands sliding down his back and over his ass, "You're right, this is better. But!" Hooking my thumbs in the edge of his pajama pants I gave it a swift tug, pulling his pants down when he stopped moving. Looking over his shoulder, I smiled at his yummy bare ass. "There... I can die happy now." I smiled, letting my head drop back in the pillow as I then made sure to even things out, pushing my own pants down my legs. "You may continue." I told him pleasantly. "I love you." I added because I could.

"Oh god, I love you too." His hands going back to grab my now bare ass, pushing himself in between my legs, making our dicks rub against each other as he went back to grinding against me.

This wasn't about making it last... Which I was perfectly happy with. Circling my arms around his neck, I leaned up, kissing him roughly as I planted my heels into the mattress, giving me the leverage I needed to push back up into him, his hands on my ass encouraging me to continue and I moaned again and again as we managed to keep up the rhythm, never skipping a beat as we worked ourselves sweaty and sticky in all the right ways. Grunting, I felt that rush build through me, my fingers digging into his shoulders.

"Leon, Leon..." I'm pretty sure I wanted to say something poetic, but he'd just ground all the vocabulary out of my system. "Oh fuck, so, so good-" My legs were trembling and my muscles kept tensing and I hoped he was right there with me because I was gonna come.

"Cloud, fuck, go, go..." Egging himself and me on, I felt him tense above me, his lips giving me a sloppy kiss, teeth clashing and tongue tangling with mine. Then the he shoved his arm under the small of my back, pulling me up so I was sitting on his lap, his fingers squeezing my ass, his lips still kissing me hungrily, having managed to not break the lip lock nor the friction as he'd moved us into a sitting position.

This gave me better access and I guess that's why he'd done this, so I could push back into him just as firmly as he was pressing into me. I let out a relatively high pitched moan in surprise as the orgasm was pulled out of me suddenly, my arms tightening around his neck and I was glad his body stiffened against my own, his low moan telling me he was right there with me. I pressed my parted lips against his open mouth, our chests bumping into one another as we tried to catch our breaths, my hips rolling slowly into his a couple more times to work us down the high gently. When I was boneless, I moaned softly, letting my body sag against his.

Holding me still, he gently turned and laid us both down on our sides, panting. "You okay, Cloud?" Leon asked softly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, blue eyes searching mine.

Smiling, I nodded at him, "Are you?"

"Better than okay. Very satisfied." He grinned easily at me. "Let's do this again sometime." Wiggling his eyebrows at me, he squeezed my ass.

I chuckled, pushing myself up so I could sit on the bed, "Silly. You woke the monster now. We're doing this every night." I told him with a curt nod before shuffling my way out of the huge bed and walking into the bathroom to find us something to clean up with. "Oh!" I realized, grabbing the box of tissues before making my way back into the bedroom, "That's why you wanted to do blowjobs. No clean up to worry about." I grinned at his naked form, looking utterly relaxed, hands beneath his head as he seemed unwilling and unable to really move at this point. Climbing onto the bed again, I started cleaning us up.

"Thanks." He snagged me around the waist as I finished and tossed the Kleenex in the garbage next to the bed. Rolling me onto my back next to him, he nuzzled his face into the side of my head. "You wanna sleep naked?"

Humming in appreciation, I snuggled into his side, "Yes please."

I groaned as I heard Shiva whining, most likely at the foot of the stairs. She knew she wasn't allowed upstairs, at least that we'd taught her. She was a scared little creature though, a bit of a wuss and every time she heard something suspicious at night, instead of barking it away like a house dog should as their main job is to be an alarm... she squeaked and woke me and Leon up, hoping either one of us would come down so she could hide. We needed a guard dog. Seriously.

The house had a pretty neat alarm system, but a dog would warn you a bit in advance if something or someone came onto your property before they had the chance to try and break in or anything in the like. Shiva squeaked again and I shook my head stubbornly, moaning in irritation as she clearly wasn't going to let go tonight. Why tonight?

Tightening my arm around Leon's waist, I snuggled more closely against him, hoping she'd just shut up and leave us be. Leon grunted, having heard her too and he was intent on ignoring her as well as his arm around my shoulder pulled me even closer, his lips pressing against my forehead before his breathing settled back into it's relaxed, sleepy state.

And then she barked. Growling, I propped myself up, "Shiva!" I shouted, "Shut the hell up!" Nodding at the closed bedroom door, I lay back down as she didn't return my shout with a bark and then mumbled an apology for making Leon jump at my sudden action. Kissing his cheek, I was determined to just keep sleeping, but then she barked again. Untangling myself from Leon, I sat up, rubbing my eyes as I checked the clock.

"Four am?" Hanging my head, I reached over and patted Leon's chest as he groaned in irritation. "I'll go reassure her. Probably a squirrel in the garden or something." His eyes still closed, he nodded, reaching up to stroke my back softly, mouthing a 'thank you' for taking this turn.

Smiling, I slipped out of bed, scratching my head as I thought about putting on some clothes... But I wanted to be naked again when I got back here so I decided to put on one of Leon's bathrobes, taking the fluffiest one before making my way down the stairs. Glaring at the dog sitting there, she looked up at me with big eyes, her tail wagging.

"No." I said sternly, "You're not going to cute your way out of this." Grabbing her collar, I resisted the urge to cuddle her as I dragged her in direction of the garage. I wanted to just pat her and tell her everything was fine but then she'd think she was allowed to wake us up at night and that just wouldn't do. The garage was her 'punishment' to understand she couldn't keep doing this.

She whined and I sighed, "I'm sorry, baby, I don't like doing this but you can't do that." Spreading out a blanket on the floor, I pointed at it and she dutifully laid down on it, looking all kinds of sad that I was doing this to her. "Ah... Don't look at me like that!" I grumbled, trying to keep the glare on my face but I failed, "Maybe we should get you a friend... A sister to keep you company when Leon and I aren't there." I whispered, crouching down so I could pat her anyway.

She rolled over onto her stomach, loving the attention and after a moment of rubbing and scratching, I bid her a goodnight before making my way out of the garage, closing the door behind me. That could be a good idea... I'd talk to Leon about it, see if he'd like another dog... Shiva would then have a friend and I'd make sure this one wasn't as much of a wuss.

Snickering, I stepped over to the stairs and then winced as the muscles in my leg tensed, shooting it's way up my arm. The world was spinning all of a sudden and my body overheated as my arm retaliated by flinging itself outwards all the while my leg went completely numb. Moaning in surprise and discomfort, my eyes rolled to the back of my head and then everything went black.

* * *

><p><strong>Leon<strong>

I bolted up in bed when I heard a thump at the bottom of the stairs. Throwing my arm out, I didn't feel Cloud next to me. Then I remembered that he'd taken Shiva to the garage to calm her down, but I felt like he should be done by now. Another thump, and I jumped out of bed grabbing a robe from the hanger and throwing it on as I went to the stairs.

"Cloud!" He was at the bottom, his body jerking and I recognized the signs of a seizure again. "Shit!" Running, trying not to fall as I frantically tried to reach him before he did any damage to himself. The doctor had said the seizure could last anywhere from two to five minutes and after wards he could be disoriented and confused. Reaching him, I just gently cradled his still convulsing form, keeping his hands loosely at his side. "Cloud, it's okay...you're fine...I'm right here."

Before too long had passed, I felt his body go limp and I slumped with relief, stroking his forehead and pushing the hair out of his eyes. As much as I wanted to hold him in my arms, I had to put him in the recovery position, laying on his side arms stretched out. The floor was too hard. I licked my lips and gently picked Cloud up bridal style, grunting a little at the weight, before carrying him over to the couch to lay him on there.

"Cloud? Can you hear me, yet?" Stroking his arm after setting him down, I waited for a response. Nothing yet, but I wasn't too worried. Okay, I was very worried, but I knew that I shouldn't call the ambulance just yet. Pursing my lips, I looked over his form and decided that he would be better served if I was holding him. "I'm going to just sit and hold your head, okay? Okay, just relax, I'm right here, not going anywhere." Gently lifting his head, I slid underneath it, glad that I'd put on the bathrobe. My fingers started running through his soft spikes and I took a few steadying breaths, trying to slow my racing heartbeat. Another seizure. Not a good thing.

"I'm betting this is because I made you orgasm last night. I shouldn't have let you talk me into that, even though I wanted to. Should have known better, I guess." I placed a gentle kiss on the top of his head, moving my hand down to his arm and side. "Well, I'll know better now. As much as it's going to suck, no more naughty stuff until after your surgery."

His face scrunched up and he carefully opened an eye, "That's unfair..." He muttered, sighing as he remained where he was, not moving yet as he probably needed a minute, "Why did I go down again?" He asked softly, looking a bit scared as he couldn't seem to remember...

I refrained from grabbing him and clutching him to my chest, glad that he'd woken up on his own. "Shiva was whining, and you went down to reassure her." Let him ask the questions, clear his mind. If anything suspicious happened in the next half hour though, to the hospital I was taking him and demanding they get that tumor out now.

"Oh..." He said, nodding his head slightly as he remembered, "I talked to her and put her in the garage and then she gave me that look you can't resist. I resisted though..." He told me proudly, "Well. A little bit. I asked her if she'd like to have a sister to keep her company at night. Can we get another dog?" He asked hopefully. "Yes, I am definitely using my current situation to sway you into agreeing with more ease." He added shamelessly, giving me a small grin.

Resist Leon...dammit. "Okay, but two is plenty." Smiling, I leaned down to give him another soft kiss on the head. "And I'm only letting you because I'm afraid I will have to insist on no more orgasms til after your surgery. Deal?"

"Ugh," He groaned, "Should have expected that to happen." He scowled then, "Like giving me a tumor wasn't enough, now sex gets taken away from me?" He pursed his lips then, detaching his eyes from the ceiling as he'd been talking to higher powers, looking at me curiously now, "Orgasms in general?" He asked, "Are you actually going to stop me from masturbating?" He whispered, clearly not liking that at all.

"Well, have you masturbated after you found out about the tumor? Tell me honestly how often you've done it, and I might think about it." After all, maybe it was the actual bumping and grinding that did it, not the orgasm. Internally crossing my fingers, I prayed Cloud would say that he masturbated four times a day or something.

He had the decency to blush just a tad, a playful smile spreading over his lips, "How many times have you masturbated since I moved into the house?" He asked.

"You first. My lips are sealed and stop distracting me." I playfully glared and poked him in the side.

Squirming away from my finger, he chuckled, shrugging, "Once a day, at least..." He said first, then frowned, "Wait. Well, about. Definitely once a day since every time you come home in that suit of yours my dick springs to life and sings hallelujah. Why do you think I go take a shower after you come in? Sometimes I even had to take a shower before you even got here because the thought of you in a suit alone was enough."

"Really? Wow." I shouldn't feel flattered, but dammit. The idea of him constantly needing to touch himself after seeing me in a suit was a huge boost to my ego. And if he was that vigorous with his orgasms, then it wasn't those. It must be the excitement and the movement from the actual grinding that set him off. Well, that was good, at least, sort of. No sex, but just orgasms. Sighing, I went back to petting his side. "Okay, I've done my fair share of masturbating since you've come to live here. And I suppose that we don't have to stop all orgasms involved, but no dry humping or grinding of any kind. And no sex either."

Reaching up, he cupped my face, "I don't think it was linked to that, but." He placed his hand over my mouth, keeping me from protesting, "I understand your concern. I accept your deal with great reluctance, and only because I love you so much." He told me happily and then that glint in his eye appeared, telling me he had come up with something. "Oh! Maybe we can just shower together from time to time. We wouldn't be breaking the rules if we happened to masturbate in the same room together, right?" He asked innocently.

Groaning into the palm of his hand, I dropped my head back onto the couch. "Cloud... that's acceptable I guess. You feel up to walking?" He would feel more comfortable in bed, and I was starting to crash after the adrenalin high.

He nodded, "Yeah, I can walk." Sitting up, he carefully and slowly put his feet on the ground, smiling at me as I gripped his hand to help him push off the couch, "Thanks for taking such good care of me, Leon." He whispered as we made our way to the stairs.

"I love you, Cloud." I said simply, wanting him to know that I wasn't looking for anything, had no ulterior motives. I just loved him and wanted to take care of him. We made it up the stairs without incident, and I pushed open the door to the bedroom, waiting as he walked through it.

He made his way into the bed, lying on the same spot he'd been on before, reaching for my arm so he could tug me into the bed with him. "Love you too." He whispered, shuffling closer so he could snuggle into my side again. Draping my arm around him, I pulled the covers over us and let myself relax and fall back asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Couple of days later<strong>

"Here can you file these really quick and then we'll be able to get downstairs to the party?" I dropped a few files on my secretary's desk, glad to be done with my paperwork on time, despite my distractions. It wasn't my fault that Cloud and I were still in the 'honeymoon phase' as my secretary called it. I no longer stayed late to get stuff done, so that meant that I actually had to work hard get everything done that I needed to if I wanted to make home in time for dinner. And I did want to make it home in time for that. Cloud's meals were amazing, at least to me, and the fact that he usually greeted me at the door with a kiss and hug was really the highlight of my day.

I'd looked forward to tonight, as it was my first real chance to show Cloud off to the people in my office. They knew I'd gotten married, and most of them had assumed it was to Rinoa. That bitch. So, now it was my chance to dispel those rumors once and for all. Glancing at my watch, I had about ten minutes before Cloud got here, and I went back into my office to grab my suit jacket to meet him downstairs.

Checking my jacket for white dog hairs, Shiva liked to see me off in the mornings, I found none and put it on and straightened my tie. Needed to look good, I guess. At least not an embarrassment. The company usually invited a few high profile clients to these, and I was trained to make a good impression to everyone. Closing my office door, I saw that my secretary had already gone downstairs, the files put away. That was fast. I headed for the elevator, hoping that the company had sprung for a buffet, because I was starving.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened and my breath caught as Cloud stood there in a pressed suit looking slightly nervous, nibbling on his lip.

Gaze landing on mine, he sighed in relief, "I feel immensely out of place." He said, tugging on the jacket a bit, and reaching up to try and tame his hair which... "I know. I tried very hard but not even the largest amount of gel is willing to keep them down." He flicked a spike, letting it bounce and he shrugged, smiling at me as I stepped into the elevator and closer to him. Moving into my personal space, he placed his lips against my jaw, "Missed you today."

"Missed you more." Only allowing me a chaste kiss because I was wearing suit pants and I didn't really want to get hard so everyone could see. I tugged a little on his hair. "I like it spiky. And you look great." I murmured, loving how he looked in a suit, and how well it fit him. "I love you. And don't be nervous. They'll love you."

"Love you too." He murmured, placing another soft kiss on my lips before grinning, "Seriously, look," Turning around he took a step forward and pointed at his ass, "See what I've been meaning all this time?" He chuckled. "Suits are bootyfyers."

I licked my lips and ripped my eyes away from his delicious ass back up to his face. Sending him a warning glare, I shook a finger at him. "Naughty Cloud. You realize that everyone will notice if we get hard? Now, here we are." The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. "Just mingle, be yourself, but feel free to stick to my side like glue so I can show you off."

He placed his hand on the small of my back, giving it a quick rub and me a smile. "I'll glue for now." Stepping out of the elevator, I then placed my hand on his back so I could guide him to the right part of the building where the party was taking place. Once there, Cloud moved closer to me, and when I looked down I grinned as his eyes were wide, staring at the huge crowd of people in fancy clothes, plates and drinks in hand as they talked. "Why am I here again?" he squeaked.

"Because you're my husband and people keep assuming that Rinoa is the one I married. You don't want that do you?" Sending him a pout, I rubbed his back and tried to reassure him. "Come on, let's get some food first, then maybe we'll find Tifa. She's been hinting that she was going to bring a date. First time too. We can give her a hard time." We walked forward, making a beeline for the buffet.

I knew exactly how Cloud would react when mentioning the fact people thought Rinoa was married to me and I was pleased to see it worked when the fear turned into determination. He didn't grope my crotch this time though, just stayed close and then smiled happily as he served himself a plate of food while I did the same.

"Is there a specific purpose to this party, or like... do you guys need to finish left over alcohol from the Christmas party?" he joked before putting an oyster in his mouth which then led him to grimace, frantically look for a napkin so he could press it against his mouth. He didn't spit it out though. He swallowed it with his eye twitching, his body shuddering as the oyster went down. "Hmmm. Yumm." He said sarcastically, trying a cracker with caviar next. He was having less difficulty with those.

"You are brave. I usually just go for the sandwiches at the end of the table." Shuddering, I watched him eat the caviar. "That is nasty. Anyways, they usually throw a party like this when we either win a big case, or sometimes it's to introduce a client that is hiring us for an extended period of time." I watched as he then tried some sort of snail looking thing. "Dear lord. That is gross."

He swallowed it, licking his lips, "These actually aren't that bad. Here," Taking one, he grinned and then, "Try one. For me?" He purred, "There is some sort of garlic type sauce on it."

Grimacing as it hit my tongue, I closed my mouth and slowly chewed... "Okay, the texture is kinda funky, but the taste isn't bad I guess. But still. That's gross." I spotted Tifa heading our way and I grinned at the overwhelmed looking gentleman that she was pulling behind her. "Tifa!"

"Ah! My two favorite men in the entire world!" Tifa said happily, grasping the man's hand who frowned at her in amusement, an eyebrow raising at her words. Tifa didn't see though, making her way through a couple of people before reaching us. She grabbed Cloud's chin first, pecking his lips like she always did before giving me a smile, reaching up to pat my cheek softly. "This is Zell." She then said, tugging on the man's hand to pull him closer and show him off with a big smile as she raked her eyes down his figure.

"She's eating him..." Cloud murmured at me, grinning at the poor confused man named Zell. "We're gay." He clarified so whatever testosterone had sprung to life when seeing Tifa so close to us would vanish at his words.

"Ah, okay. That makes more sense." He stuck his hand out with a grin on his face. "I'm Zell Dincht. Nice to meet you." I grasped his hand and was relieved to see no discomfort in his stance, meaning he wasn't uncomfortable with the fact that we were gay.

"Nice to meet you, too. I'm Leon and this is my husband, Cloud." I grinned as I finally got to say that out loud in my office building.

"Yes." Cloud agreed happily, stepping closer to me, placing his arm loosely around my waist.

Tifa laughed happily, "And it's all thanks to whom?" She leaned forward, pressing a manicured finger against Cloud's chest, giving him a narrowed look.

"Tifa." Cloud grumbled out for an answer, clearly reluctant to give her any kind of power whatsoever.

"Well, it's true she introduced us, but I'd like to take some credit in managing to catch him." This was fun, bragging about getting Cloud, and holding him close to me, and watching as a few coworkers noticed us out of the corner of their eyes.

Zell grinned and put an arm around Tifa pulling her close to him. "It was nice to meet both of you, but I promised her some food, so we're off to get some. Later." Tifa didn't say anything to mine and Cloud's surprise, simply smiled softly at Zell, giving him a nod of consent before he guided her off and away, a quick smile over her shoulder with a wave before she began chatting Zell's ear off.

I turned to Cloud. "I think he might just be able to handle her. Good for her. Let's mingle for a bit."

We wondered around for the next few minutes and I introduced Cloud to a few of my coworkers that I worked with on a regular basis. My secretary asked about Shiva, wondering if we could bring her by again. It made me want to get her a puppy of her very own, and when I told Cloud that, he laughed saying I was acting like she was a little kid and not a grown woman. Whatever, I retaliated by pinching Cloud's ass discreetly when nobody was looking.

Finally making our way over to the corner and out of the press of the crowd, I nursed a coke, avoiding the alcohol with Cloud. The doctor had warned against having any kind of alcohol for him, and I was not going to drink in front of him. That would be rude. I pointed out my boss to Cloud and was surprised when she caught my eye and started heading towards us. Her secretary was walking right beside her, the phone ringing off the hook. Poor assistant, literally never stopped working. My boss never did either, but the party seemed to be a success because she was carrying that particular smile. She was only a couple of years older then me, and pretty big in the overall lawyer world.

"Leon," She said warmly, reaching out to pat my shoulder, "I'm glad you could make it." Turning to eye Cloud, she gave him a tentative smile, "Hello. I'm Larxene Bennet. You don't work for me." She pointed out, curious.

Cloud chuckled, "Ah, no Ma'am. I'm Cloud Leonhart." His cheeks tinted a light pink, but he didn't hesitate to tell her the following, "I'm Leon's husband."

"Oh! How nice." She said, and meaning it as she took his hand and shook it. Turning her attention back to me, she then smiled in that way where I knew she wanted something or needed something, "How long have you been married?" Of course she'd get to that after the pleasantries because she was a well brought up woman.

"About six weeks." I told her, glancing down at Cloud and smiling.

"Really?" Cloud asked, smiling, "Feels like longer." He laced his fingers through mine, rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand as he seemed lost in thought, probably thinking about our wedding.

"Ah, the honeymoon phase..." Larxene murmured, "I remember it. It's why I've been divorced three different times. Every time the phase ended, I dumped the guy and then moved on to the next." She said cheerfully, "Now. Enough sharing." She crooked her finger, which then led her secretary to pop into our small circle, including herself in the conversation. "Kairi, stay alert." The girl with maroon hair nodded curtly, her fingers flying over the keyboard of a blackberry, never even making eye contact with me or Cloud. "Leon. You know that every year I take a few good people from the office with me on a trip to that spa out of town. Conferences, general overview of the company and then some relaxing and fun as well." She smiled, "I would like for you to join me and the others this year."

Wow. I can honestly say that I hadn't seen that coming. She forgot to mention that those few good people usually ended up becoming partners in the firm and having their career fast tracked. It was an amazing opportunity to even be invited. "When would you be taking this trip?" I asked, already wondering if I could fit it into my schedule.

Larxene's eyebrows rose in surprise and Kairi stopped in her ministrations for a split second as well, giving me a funny look before getting back to work. Larxene smiled in amusement, "Well this is a first. I know you know what this trip means and generally the people I ask to come with me don't exactly worry about the date." She poked Kairi, who giggled and then swatted her boss, who grinned in return. "See that, Kairi? Men like Leon are what I need to keep this heavy boat afloat." The secretary nodded and Larxene then shrugged, "First week of June. All expensives would be paid for, nothing is coming out of your paycheck." Cloud's fingers tightened considerably around my hand at her words.

Too bad. Being made partner would have been nice, but even so, I didn't even hesitate in my answer. "Unfortunately, I have to decline your generous offer. I'm sorry." I didn't want to share with the world our personal problems, and I don't think Cloud would appreciate it if I told random people that he had a tumor.

Cloud tugged on my hand, clearing his throat, "Excuse me, Miss Bennet? What would this trip do for Leon?" I was about to tell him it didn't matter, but Larxene of course jumped in first, answering him.

"He'd have the opportunity to become a partner in this very firm, work along side me and help run things." She told him. "He'd get a considerable raise." She added for good measure just in case Cloud was a gold digger.

Cloud blinked, "Would he get more days off?" He asked hopefully.

Larxene pressed her lips tightly together and I knew she considered lying for a split second but my look told her not to even try. "No. He'd work more hours, actually."

Cloud frowned at that, "Oh. Ehm... If you want this job," He told me, "Then you should take it. I..." He gulped, "I'll be fine." Liar.

"Excuse me for just a second, please." I told my boss, something that I'd never even considered two months ago. Turning to Cloud, I looked at him, silently trying to tell him to let me handle this.

Larxene gently placed her hand on my shoulder, getting my attention. "It's a big decision, Leon. I understand if you need a moment to talk it over with your partner. I'll be here all evening, so come find me when you've made a decision, yes?" She said, understanding.

I looked back at her, sending her a grateful smile before turning back to Cloud and giving him my full attention as she walked away. "Cloud, I'm not going."

"You don't want that job?" He asked, looking worried, "I don't want you to miss out on something so you can stay with me when the surgery happens." He paled some, "I'm not gonna lie, I really need you there, but this promotion sounds huge, so I wouldn't be mad if you had to do this. I'm sure Tifa won't mind sitting with me until you get back." He offered.

I scowled at him. "Are you fucking kidding me? I'm not choosing my job over you. Not in a million years. Besides, I'm not looking for a partnership. Not now. Not when I finally have something to come home to." And it was very true. I'd never really cared to much about getting a promotion, but I'd never really thought about turning one down. There hadn't been a reason until now, and I wasn't going to screw up by choosing something like a promotion over Cloud.

He didn't look so worried anymore now as he stepped closer, his hands lightly resting on my chest. He wanted to kiss me, I could tell by the way he was looking at me. Not just kiss me, he wanted to do things to me that couldn't happen here in the middle of an office party.

"I just wanted to make sure I wasn't taking anything from you. Now that you've made clear I'm not..." He whispered, standing onto his tip toes to place a soft kiss on my cheek, "Please decline that job offer. I need you home with me every day." He murmured.

"Gladly. I'm just fine being a regular lawyer, with a house, a dogs and a damn fine husband." I kissed him quickly, before taking his hand in mine and went to find Larxene to give her my final answer.

* * *

><p><strong>Cloud<strong>

I am the luckiest man on this entire planet. Yes. I actually just said that after years of wondering why streaks of bad luck kept wrapping themselves around me. Not anymore though. I hadn't exactly asked to get married, it had just happened to make certain necessary things possible. In this process I'm pretty fucking certain I got the best man ever to say 'I do' and wear a ring that claimed him as my own.

I guess the tumor played a role in it, but I didn't want to give it too much credit because that was depressing. Leon. That's all. He'd told this big shot lawyer boss that he didn't want to be a partner in her firm... Just so he could keep coming home to me and eat dinner with me and be there for me when the surgery would happen. I'd never loved anything or anyone the way I did Leon. And somehow, if it was even possible, I fell a bit harder for him over the fact that he actually seemed truly very happy to decline this promotion so he could be there for me and keep up our cozy daily routine.

Not at all nervous about the party anymore, I washed my hands, smiling at my reflection as I made my way out of the bathroom to go find Leon. He'd been talking to his secretary when I'd gone to use the restroom. I hoped he hadn't moved because I'm pretty sure I'd get lost in this huge crowd of people.

Craning my neck, I tried looking over all the people, hoping to land my gaze on Leon's brown hair. I was startled out of my search though as a small hand came to rest on my shoulder, catching my attention. Turning, I smiled hesitantly at a tall woman with a tight brown pony tail. She was in her fifties, I'd say, wearing a fancy suit like everyone else in here.

"You look a little lost, young man. Perhaps I can help you find someone?" Her voice was smooth and warm sounding, and she gave me a friendly sort of smile.

"Oh, yes." I chuckled, "I'm looking for Leon. Oh, ehm, Squall Leonhart. Perhaps you've seen him?" I asked hopefully.

"I haven't seen him yet, but I'm sure he's here. And who might you be?" She replied, sounding interested.

"He's here. I just lost him for a second," I confirmed, "I'm Cloud Leonhart." And then came the best part, "I'm his husband." I told her happily, offering her my hand, "I don't work here, so in case you're someone who's supposed to be recognized, I apologize in advance before I ask who you might be?"

"Oh, my. I'm very pleased to meet you. I'm Lucrecia Leonhart, Leon's mother." She looked surprised, taking my hand and giving it a gentle shake. Now this. This was worthy of a fucking seizure. It didn't happen though. Shaking her hand limply, I stared at her, managing to close my mouth after a couple of seconds, shaking my head.

"Oh, woah. I'm sorry. I had no idea." Leon! Where the hell are you! "Our wedding happened sorta fast," I explained quickly, "I myself was a little blindsided by it." I told her in a nervous chuckle, "My parents weren't present either." I added, hoping that would lessen the blow even though I had no idea who my parents were.

"Cloud? Oh, there you are." I saw Leon over his mother's shoulder, grinning as he caught my eyes. "I was looking for you."

Staring up at him with huge, wide eyes, I nodded, "Your mother found me first."

"Mother?" Walking around so he could see her face, he looked startled. "I didn't know you were coming! Why didn't you call?"

She raised a delicate eyebrow, "You mean the way you didn't call to tell me you got married?" She reached out, patting my shoulder.

Leon had the decency to blush and stutter a little. "I'm sorry, Mother. This is Cloud, my husband. Is father around?" His father too? Dear god, I hadn't prepared myself for a family meet tonight!

"It's fine, Darling. Cloud explained the wedding happened somewhat fast." She smiled at her son, "And yes, your father is around here somewhere. Would you like me to look for him while you put some color back into your husband's cheeks? I'm afraid I may have shocked him a bit."

"Yes. Thank you, mother." Leon kissed her cheek and she set out to find his father apparently. He turned to me, looking sheepish. "Cloud? You okay?"

I smacked his chest, glaring up at him, "If we were actively having sex, I'd be denying you it tonight." I growled out.

Rubbing his chest and wincing, he whined, "Hey, I didn't know they were going to be here. And I guess I forgot to mention that I'd gotten married. In my defense, it didn't exactly start out as a regular wedding, you know." That brought me back to my main worry as of late. Would he still want to annul the marriage? He called me his husband, but that's because legally we were, in fact, married and we still had to keep up appearances so I could use the insurance. Sighing, I smiled up at him, patting the spot I'd smacked apologetically.

"I'm sorry, she was just sort of sprang on me and I didn't know how to go about it. I've never done the 'meet the parents' thing and I assumed I'd get at least a week of time to stress over it, planning out my most likable behavior so they would see I'm the right guy for you." Not caring about the crowd so much, I stepped into his personal space, snaking my arms around his waist so I could hold onto him, "I'm okay." I told him, answering his initial question.

Putting his arms around me for a quick hug back, he murmured in my ear, "Good, cause here comes my dad. Just be yourself, and we won't have to see them again until Thanksgiving." Releasing me, he gave me a quick smile and turned around.

Meeting his parents had turned out to be a lot less scary then I thought it would be. It had been extremely short... Basically, I'd shaken hands with his dad, Leon had introduced me to them and while I'd worried about what we would tell them when they'd ask 'where did you meet?' the question never came. His dad asked Leon about his job and the next question had been if I'd come to Thanksgiving with Leon, seeing as we were married.

His mother had then casually added they would understand and not mind if we spent it with my parents, but Leon had quickly swooped in, saying we'd be there. And ehm, well... Then they were off to go mingle with people. I'd asked Leon if it was like this for everyone and Leon had assured me it wasn't, that his parents just weren't close to him much at all.

I wondered if that bothered him, having parents. but not being close to them. I'd been a bit 'damaged' by the fact that I didn't have any family, but that had healed when Leon came into my life. He was all the family I needed. I was pretty certain Leon felt the same about me, which made me happy.

* * *

><p>AN: It could have ended right there people...but, what about Cloud's surgery? Will he make it? Any lasting side effects from it? You'll have to wait and see.

PS. Sorry for the late update. Me and Reyaa got busy with another fic today...which you shall have to wait for;)


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **

**Alice: Last chapter guys. And here it is. Thanks for the reviews, we love them! Also, I thought I'd spill a few secrets. The LeonhartStrife Group has opened on DeviantArt. You can find a link to it from my DA account, aliceupsidedown. Also, we actually have six other completed stories that are ready to be uploaded. Which is another reason I caved and gave this to you all at a chapter a day. **

**I'm totally biting my lip and debating on telling you a little bit about them...but I'm thinking that you might just have to watch for it. ^_^ **

* * *

><p><strong>Cloud-A week or so later<strong>

Rolling my eyes, I laid down on the floor so I could look at Shiva who was hiding underneath the coffee table. "Oh come on, silly girl, she's going to be your friend." I reached out, patting Shiva's leg reassuringly all the while her new buddy, the black Labrador I'd brought home from the shelter today, jumped onto my back, breathing down my neck as she curiously looked at Shiva over my shoulder. She, like Shiva had been, was only about four months old, so she definitely wasn't heavy right now.

"Cloud? Umm, what in the world is sitting on your back?" Leon's voice came from behind me, and I could hear the grin on his face.

Smiling because he was home, I flipped over, holding onto the pup so she wouldn't fall over and settling her between my legs as I looked up at Leon. "Hi Leon! This is our new dog. I'm calling her Fenrir. Is that okay with you? She's a Labrador, four months old and less of a wuss then Shiva, so this one," I patted Fenrir's head, which led her to stick her tongue out, leaning back into my hand as she looked really happy with my scratching, "should be able to guard the house. You know, before the burglar realizes all he has to do is give her sweet attention to shut her up." I grinned as Fenrir flopped over onto her back, her leg bouncing back and forth as I rubbed her stomach. "Shiva is hiding under the table."

Leon blinked down at the puppy, then went to crouch down beside the coffee table and reached under to stroke Shiva. "You alright, girl? Wanna come out here?" Speaking quietly, he was trying to sound calm to coax her out.

Shiva had grown a bit now, her voice changing as well and she was officially incapable of barking any longer. Which was normal since husky's howled like wolves did. I chuckled and rolled my eyes as she let out a frustrated sounding howl, shooting out from underneath the table to welcome Leon home properly all the while trying to hide from Fenrir less then a step away.

"Of course she comes out for you." I laughed, leaning over, puckering out my lips because I wanted Leon to give me my hello kiss.

"Cause she's my dog." He snickered and leaned over, cupping my cheek to give me the kiss I'd been asking for.

I smiled into the kiss, nodding at him. She was his dog. "Fenrir is mine." I claimed, looking down at the cute little flea bag who was still lying on her back, tongue lying on the floor as she just remained there, waiting patiently for more tummy rubbing. "See, she's exactly like me." I snickered, tugging on her ear playfully. She rolled over, getting onto her feet so she could give into curiosity and greet Leon, but Shiva growled. "Yeah, Shiva is definitely your dog," I laughed, "You gotta let her do that, but don't ignore Fenrir either. If you give Fenrir attention and Shiva then butts in? Then you can put her back in place, but don't scold Shiva if she growls at Fenrir when Fenrir tries to butt into the attention you're giving Shiva." Nodding slowly in understanding, Leon continued petting Shiva until her growl disappeared.

"Here," I said, jumping up onto my feet and bringing two fingers to my lips so I could whistle while walking towards the kitchen. Shiva followed me and I told her to sit down beside me, placing my hand on her collar. "Now say hi to Fenrir." I wasn't actually holding onto Shiva, she could go and do whatever she wanted, but it was just to give Leon and Fenrir some space before Shiva would butt in.

Leon sat down and crossed his legs, making kissing noises to get Fenrir's attention. The excited puppy came to lick and sniff his hand and Leon scratched her behind her ears, grinning. "She's cute. Oh! I had a question I wanted to ask you. Are they going to be fixed? Or are we going to let them have puppies?"

I winced, "I don't know... The idea of letting those careless males jump either one of these two..." I patted Shiva on the head, "It's not exactly candle lit dinners and sweet love making." I knew it was part of the whole cycle of life and blah blah blah, but seriously. "We can figure that out later." I told Leon, making my way to the kitchen, Shiva on my heels and Fenrir was right behind me, "I want to show you something!" I told Leon excitedly, waiting with the two dogs for him to get here already. I'd worked on it the moment I'd gotten home.

Groaning as he got back onto his feet and wincing with his hand on his back, he followed me into the kitchen. "Show me what?" He asked, slightly apprehensive sounding.

I pointed at the bottom of the door proudly, "I totally cut a hole out of your backdoor and put in a fancy dog door!" I bounced and Fenrir barked happily at my excitement. "See their collars? They have this little thingy on the side," I showed him the one around Shiva's neck, "Basically the dog door opens only when this," I patted the square box on the top left corner of the dog door, "scans their collars. They can come and go as they want. I fixed the hole in the hedge too, so we don't need to worry about them running off." It was great, I liked that our dogs could go out whenever they wanted, not relying on us to get fresh air when they needed or when they felt like running, "It did sort of keep me busy until ten minutes before you got here, so I didn't make dinner..." I told Leon apologetically.

Leon went over to inspect the door and the mechanism that would make it work, grinning at the puppies that followed him. "Wow, it looks good. And don't worry about dinner. We can just order out." Standing up, he turned and walked over to give me a hug. Whispering in my ear, "You can take the night off. You don't need to make dinner every night."

Sighing contently, I snuggled into his arms, "I know. But I like making you dinner every night." I told him honestly, peeking down and then grinning as Shiva used the door like a true expert. "Your dog is a genius!" I turned a bit in his arms so I could curiously watch Fenrir try and copy Shiva. She stuck her head out but then chickened out and tried getting back in but got halfway stuck. She pulled a couple of times and then gave up, just staying stuck there.

"Ahh, you poor thing." Leon chuckled and let go of me to go and got my dog unstuck. "There you go, you silly girl. Try again." Making sure she would get the system, I gently grabbed her by the sides and then pushed her through the door a couple of times. It looked ridiculous, but from experience at the shelter, this was the way to show puppies how to use these types of doors. After a couple of more times, I put her down onto her feet and she then tentatively tried again, this time making it through, if somewhat clumsily, but she made it.

"She's pretty smart too." Leon said, and gathered me in his arms again, sighing into my hair and relaxing against me. "I'm so ready to just sit on the couch and do nothing. How about you?"

Rubbing his back, I nodded against his shoulder, "I'd like that." Moving out of his arms, I took his hand and then brought him back out into the living room so we could settle onto the couch, "How was your day?" I asked, because I asked every day and not just to be nice but because I really cared and wanted to know. Sitting down, I smiled as he sat down beside me, reaching out for me so I would settle against him.

"Not bad, just long and tedious. Larxene asked me about the partnership thing again, and when I declined she did her little sigh thing. But, you know, I think that she actually respects me a little more for not just doing what everyone else before me has done. You know, almost all of the partners are divorced or not even married." Lazily tracing patterns into my side, he sighed. "Well, anyways, she asked me who would make a good partner in my stead and so I told her Tifa was the best one I could think of."

I smiled, pressing a kiss against his jaw, "She'll love you for suggesting her. I know she's wanted the promotion with a passion." Swallowing nervously as that worry ran through my head again, I licked my lips and figured I'd better just get it over and done with. Just ask him already and stop stressing out about it. "Leon?" He hummed, informing me I had his attention, "Ehm... When I've had my surgery and your insurance covered the expenses, will you still want us to get our marriage annulled?" I asked, knowing my voice sounded shaky and I was terrified he'd want to get it annulled, so much so, I avoided looking at him.

"Hey, no. No way." His hand cupped my face and turned it up and towards his, stopping a few inches away, his eyes and face scrunched up in worry. "Cloud, I love you. Why would I want to get this marriage annulled? Unless..." Licking his lips, he whispered, "Do you want to get it annulled?"

"I love you..." I breathed out, my muscles relaxing and my heart now beating fast only because I had the most awesome husband in the entire world and that made my heart happy with joy, no longer beating fast because of worry concerning the annulment. "No, I don't want to get it annulled either. Although a bit awkward, I liked our wedding, I don't want to pretend it never happened. I don't want to be your boyfriend, I want to stay your husband and I need you to be mine." It felt so fucking good to say that.

Still holding my face close to his, he smiled. "I'm yours. Please don't worry. And dear god, I can't wait til after your surgery so we can finally have sex. I'm taking that extra week off at the end of your recovery and we're going on a cruise. Where ever you want."

I smiled, kissing his lips softly, "Somewhere sunny. That way you'll be walking around as naked as possible at all times and I'll be very happy." Sliding his hand up into my hair, he tilted my head so he could deepen the kiss, pulling me closer with his other arm.

"Destiny Islands? That sound good?" He asked between slow and soft kisses.

Pressing forward so I could lean into him some more, I nodded, "Perfect." I agreed, tilting my head so I could try and deepen the kiss, liking the slow but needing more. "Okay..." I breathed, pulling away from him completely, "That surgery needs to happen soon." I grumbled out, wincing as I re-arranged myself.

"You're telling me." He mumbled, copying my movements. Wincing, he rolled his neck around his shoulders and I wondered if his neck and back were bothering him again. He reached his arm around to knead the muscles at the base of his skull, then smiled at me. "Sorry to ask, but do you think you could try and loosen my muscles again? I'm getting another tension headache."

Forgetting my current state of arousal, I gestured for him to turn his back to me, "Now that I'm your actual husband, I'm going to strip you of that shirt." I smiled, leaning forward to press my chest against his back, kissing his cheek as I started undoing the buttons.

"By all means, sweetie." He purred and started undoing buttons at the bottom, while I undid the top ones. Clearing his throat a little sheepishly, he apologized. "Sorry, Cloud. I guess I shouldn't talk like that since we can't do anything. I'll behave now." We both finished with the buttons and he shrugged his shirt off. I grinned, dipping my head down to kiss his neck as I pushed the shirt off his shoulders, throwing it onto the floor once I'd gotten it off him.

"It's okay, babe." I said against his skin, sliding my hands up his shoulders so I could start kneading the tension out of there all the while my lips didn't want to detach themselves from his neck, so I just let them do their thing and covered his skin with slow kisses.

Shivering, he dropped his head to his chest and moaned softly. "That kinda tickles, but please don't stop."

"Wouldn't dare." I let one hand slide down to push on the knots at the small of his back, letting the other hand stay on his neck, my fingers rubbing rhythmically, slowly working the tension away. Kissing his shoulder blade now, I slid the hand on his back to his front, resting my palm on his stomach, but making sure I didn't still the other on his neck since that is where the issue was and I didn't want him to have a headache.

Humming and moaning softly now, he pushed back into my hands and closer to my chest each time my lips connected to him. As I worked a particular spot on his neck, I felt goosebumps suddenly appear and his whole body shivered violently as he let out a loud moan. "Sorry, that spot...kinda sensitive, I guess." He murmured, placing a hand over mine that was on his stomach.

Oh man, this was hard... I was hard. Again. I wanted to pleasure him even if he couldn't really return the favor just to be on the safe side health wise when it came to me. But that didn't mean he should be completely deprived of... stuff. Shifting my legs, I settled properly behind him, my thighs hovering close by his sides and my chest now completely pressed against his back. My groin too, but that was of now matter right now. I continued to kiss his shoulder, my one hand still working slowly on his neck while I started moving the one on his stomach down some, but his hand of course gripped my fingers, stilling my movement. "Leon..." I murmured, pressing my lips against his cheek, "You know orgasms are a nice way to get rid of a headache too, right?" And then I quickly added, "I don't mind," Really, really not. "I can just take a 'shower' after wards."

"Cloud, I'm not really...I don't really want...Okay, I really want to have you touch me, but I am struggling a little." His voice was tight with want and just a hint of unhappiness. "If you can think of a way to satisfy both of us at the same time, without exciting you too much, I'll consider it. Please." He pleaded with me softly. "I won't enjoy it unless it's both of us together."

"You're much to selfless." I scolded, smiling, "I love you." It's his kindness and generosity that made him just so absolutely sweet and amazing... "Wanna take a shower?" I suggested innocently, hoping he'd get my meaning.

Sighing with relief, he tilted his head back to kiss me lightly. "We could take a bath in my tub if you wanted to. That way we could both sit down and not worry about slipping..."

I moaned, flopping back on the couch, "Naked Leon..." I murmured before springing into action as I jumped off the couch and ran for the stairs, "Come on!" I laughed, "I'm not too excited, promise, not excited at all!" A lie of course, but he wasn't taking this away from us.

Grinning and laughing at my obvious lie, he got up and made his way over to the stairs, following me up to the bathroom at a leisurely pace. "At the risk of sounding like a complete girl, there is bubble bath under the sink."

Already in the bathroom, I went over to the sink, smiling goofily, "Bubbles!" I exclaimed, taking the bottle and then moving over to the tub so I could start the water, letting the tub fill up and pouring a generous amount of bubbly in there before proceeding in taking my clothes off as fast as I could. Leon followed my lead, at a much slower pace of course and by the time he was done, I was already sitting in the tub, letting my eyes travel over his naked form appreciatively, "You're ridiculously hot."

Sending me a rather smug look, he slowly climbed into the tub, hissing a little at the water. "Thank you." Scooting over to me and trailing a hand slowly up my chest stopping at my heart, he whispered, "I've never seen someone more attractive than you are." Staring at me, never looking away, I felt his hand travel back down my chest, over my stomach, stopping only when he'd wrapped it around my dick.

Swallowing, my lips parted as my breath picked up in speed, "I thought we were going to sit on opposite ends of the tub and-" I moaned softly as his hand started moving, my head falling back, "take care of ourselves..." I finished my earlier sentence, my hand contradicting my words as I let my fingers wrap around his erection. Moving closer, I moved my legs over his so our bodies barely had any space left between one another, my free hand coming around his shoulders to hold myself steady.

Panting, he continued his hand movements. "This is the same thing, really. I'm pretty sure you'll be fine, right?" He didn't even let me respond, kissing my open mouthed instead. There was no slow build up in his kisses. He went deep and swallowed any response I may have had, quickening his hand and squeezing the tip.

Tightening my fingers in his hair, I returned his kiss with fever, picking up in speed with my hand around his length. This was probably more exciting then the humping sessions we'd done a couple weeks back. Or maybe just as much? I couldn't be sure, every time I was with Leon, whatever way it may be, it was exciting and amazing. Sex was nice, but sex with Leon was better. I loved him and that made everything more special... He's my husband, I'm his and that excited me to no end. Settling my teeth gently onto his bottom lip, I nibbled some before letting it go, licking it before plunging back in for a passionate kiss. I was panting the entire time, my moans lacing through his.

Our hand movements were in synch, when he sped up, so did I. When he slowly ran his fingers over the tip and back down, I followed. Soon though, he lost all finesse, simply stroking me harder and harder, never hurting, only pleasuring and I knew he was close. I was going to be there sooner though and I didn't like that, I needed him to come with me. Breaking away from the kiss, I moaned loudly, my shoulders tensing as he never skipped a beat, working me to the edge. Clutching his shoulders with the one arm, I rubbed his length a little more firmly, pressing my lips against his ear. Now, if I remembered right, saying certain things made things happen...

"Can't wait for you to be inside me, Leon..." I breathed, letting out a choked moan as the orgasm ripped out of me. He jerked and moaned, clamping his teeth down on my shoulder and I was relieved when I felt his body orgasm a second after mine. Keeping his lips attached to my skin, he let go with his teeth and rested his mouth against me, panting into my shoulder.

I slowly removed my hand from him while he did the same, wrapping my arms around his shoulders, clinging to him a while longer, appreciating the fact we were in a bath so no clean up was necessary. He grasped my upper arms, managing to turn me around in the tub and pull me against him so he could lay his back against the tub, my own back against his chest, my head resting on his shoulder while we stretched our legs out. Taking a cloth from the side of the tub, he slowly rubbed it over my chest, running it over my hair as well as I sighed contently, smiling.

A curious thought ran through my mind, something I hadn't really wondered about and I'm not sure why I was now, but whatever. "If you were with Rinoa before me, does that mean you've never been with guys before?" I asked softly, tilting my head up to place a kiss against his jaw.

He looked thoughtful and shook his head. "No, I had a couple boyfriends before Rinoa, nothing serious." Kissing me back, he continued gently washing my body. "Rinoa was a sort of mistake slash experiment. I hadn't had a relationship for a couple years, and I went out on a few dates with her and that was it. I just needed her to remind me that I was still gay after all." He chuckled.

I nodded, smiling happily as I flipped over, the water sloshing around us as I grinned at him, "Hmmm." Closing my eyes, I pressed my lips against his, "You're mine now." Reaching down, I took his hand, bringing it up and then kissed the finger that held his wedding band.

* * *

><p><strong>Leon - about two weeks later: June third<strong>

Yesterday seemed so far away. Cloud had woken up, cooked us breakfast and we'd gotten everything ready for the hospital. Clothes for me and him, if they let him out of the hospital gown, and my laptop, complete with a collection of movies to be watched. It had been almost surreal to pack stuff together. It was almost as if we were going on a vacation together, instead of going to the hospital, which was only five minutes away from our house.

I couldn't help but pace and glance at the clock, noticing that it had only been fifteen minutes that I'd seen him last, giving him one last kiss and 'I love you' as they wheeled him beyond the operating room doors. He would be put under and the surgery would take roughly two to three hours depending. The doctor had come in and explained some more things to us, while a nurse shaved a small square of Cloud's hair at the base of the skull. He'd held my hand and we both just sat silent, listening to the almost comforting words of Zexion. It all seemed so routine and boring when he explained it. Maybe he'd had practice in sounding that boring...

I had roughly two hours to kill and I wish I could have just taken a nap. The hospital bed had been completely uncomfortable and a bit cramped with both of us sleeping on it last night, but they'd had Cloud hooked up to an IV and he hadn't been able to climb off of it to sleep on the small couch with me. Because it was brain surgery, technically, Cloud had rated a private room, which I would have demanded even if they hadn't planned on giving him one.

Twenty minutes... They were probably already starting now and I suppressed a shudder at the idea that someone would be intentionally hurting Cloud. Sure he was asleep, but that didn't make it any less dangerous in my opinion. Twenty-two minutes. "Okay. Get a grip, Leon." Deep breath in, deep breath out. TV, just watch something mindless for the next two hours...sure...without Cloud to snuggle with. Dammit...

Running a hand through my hair, I grabbed the remote and plopped down into the chair next to Cloud's bed. Flipping through channels in annoyance, daytime TV was so boring and I was not a soap opera watcher. Ah! Stopping on what had to have been a rerun, I settled back to watch an episode of Criminal Minds, wishing Cloud was here so I could speculate on who or how they would break the case.

Okay, two hours...it had been two hours...where the fuck was Cloud? Tapping my watch, I walked into the hallway and down to the operating room doors, planning to wait in the chairs that they had set up outside. This way I would see him and walk with him while they wheeled him back to his room. If they ever came out of surgery...I tapped my foot impatiently.

Almost seated, I jumped back up onto my feet as the doors opened, revealing Cloud's surgeon, Zexion, his hair tied back with a plastic hair cover over the top of his head and a fabric mouth cap hanging around his neck, dressed in scrubs and all, telling me he'd literally just finished. Looking around the waiting area, his eyes then landed on me and he smiled, leading me to sigh in pure relief.

Walking over to me, he then reached out and patted my shoulder, "Everything went perfect. The tumor is out and there were no complications in any way whatsoever. The nurses are patching him up and will bring him back to his room when they are done. Might be a while before he wakes up though. He'll need a lot of rest, but I'm sure your presence will only help relax him over the next couple of days." Zexion said with a smile, "I'll pop in regularly over the following weeks to keep an eye on the healing process. Congratulations, Mr. Leonhart, your husband is as good as new."

Relief flooded through me and I smiled at him, offering my hand and shaking his when he gripped me. "Thank you so very much, doctor. Thank you." I was pumping his hand and I couldn't stop thanking him. Finally getting a hold of myself, I pulled back and let him have his hand back.

Zexion grinned, "Can't believe Saix doubted the legitimacy of your marriage to Cloud." He said in amusement, starting to walk off and do whatever a surgeon did after surgery.

I blinked and remembered the Insurance Investigator that had checked on us a few months ago. Of course he would have interviewed Cloud's surgeon which explains how Zexion knew him. It was still weird to think about it, but I shook it off and sat down, waiting for Cloud to be wheeled back to his room.

How long was he supposed to be out? It had been almost two hours since he'd been wheeled out of surgery and I'd walked beside him and watched as they'd transferred him to his bed. My fingers were clutching his hand and I kept turning it so I could check my watch. Any day now...wake up so I can see for myself that you're alright...Wait...did his hand just twitch? I watched as his fingers slowly tightened around mine, and I looked up at his face, hoping that he was finally going to open his eyes and show me the beautiful blue that was in them.

They did open, after a soft giggle escaped him, his eyes fixing on me, "Those unicorns have huge balls." He confided.

Blink. "What now?" Oh yeah, the pain medicine, plus the stuff they used to knock him out was probably messing with his brain. But unicorn balls? That couldn't be normal, right?

Cloud grinned, "Right. I'm sorry. I meant testicles. Testicles is a funny word, sounds like tentacles..." He said in a wondrous tone of voice, "Oh! You think they serve fried octopus in Destiny Island? Can we get some when we go on our honeymoon?" He asked hopefully.

I reached up to gently tuck his hair behind his ear and stroke his face, reassuring me that this was in fact, my husband Cloud. "Sure thing. Whatever you want. How are you feeling?" I would probably regret asking that question while he was as high as a kite.

He was staring at me, leaning his face into my palm, "You are so pretty..." He told me, "He's my husband! Back off nurses!" He said loudly, laughing as he reached out to grab my face and pull me close, "I love you." He slurred out sleepily before giving me a very sloppy kiss. "I'm okay considering how someone drilled a hole through my skull." He made a drilling noise, "You think Dr. Gizeh put a cork in the hole to keep my brain from slipping out?"

Ugh, that was a nasty image and one I probably wouldn't be forgetting anytime soon. "No, he probably used some sort of fancy thing to stitch you back up." Stroking my hand through his hair and back down his face, I looked into his drugged eyes. Somewhere in there was the real Cloud, and while this one was slightly funny and very cute, I wanted to see actual comprehension in those eyes. I grinned down at him, wishing I had a video camera to capture his antics while he was drugged. We could laugh about them together when he could finally count to ten without giggling.

Still patting my cheek, he smiled, "You look tired." He whispered, "Thank you for worrying about me. I promise I'm okay, you can sleep a bit if you want-" He yawned, closing his eyes, his hand slipping off my face to rest limply on my shoulder. As much as I wanted to crawl into bed with him and snuggle like we had last night, I figured the nurses would bitch about it. I pulled the chair closer and rested my arms and head on the bed with him, holding his hand in mine.

"Okay, we'll both take a nap. I love you, Cloud." I watched as his breathing became steady, a smile still on his face.

* * *

><p><strong>Cloud - couple of hours later<strong>

Blinking my eyes open, I carefully sat up, reached for my head and lightly touching the bandage that covered the spot my tumor had been taken out of. I smiled as my other hand was placed in that of Leon's, but then frowned at the way he was sleeping. His head propped up onto his arms, leaning forward in a chair to use the edge of my bed for pillow. That couldn't be good for his back at all. Tugging my hand out of his, I reached over and softly stroked his hair, leading him to sigh through his sleep, shifting a bit and then grimacing as he clearly wasn't comfortable.

Looking to the side of my bed, I saw it was nearly midnight now and then pressed the button that would call one of the nurses to the room. I continued to stroke Leon's hair, leaning over to place a kiss on his forehead as I waited for one of the nurses to come attend me.

"Mr. Leonhart?" She asked, sounding surprised.

I smiled at her, letting her know I was fine but then pointed at Leon, "Do you guys have an extra bed or something he can sleep on?" I asked softly.

She smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, no."

I smiled apologetically back, "Then you won't stop me from sharing mine with him because I don't want him to get back issues."

"But, Sir, that's against hospital policy."

I frowned, "Okay." I would just wait for her to leave and then get Leon in here behind her back. She probably knew I would, but decided to turn a blind eye on it as she left, closing the door behind her.

"Cloud?" Leon mumbled groggily, wincing as he sat up. "Cloud?" His voice a little louder and he looked at me, searching my face for something. "Are you still high?"

I smiled at him, pushing the hair out of his face before cupping his cheek, "That funky, huh? No, I'm coherent now." Shuffling a bit to the side, I patted the spot I'd cleared, "Get up here, you'll hurt your back if you stay like that."

Groaning and rolling his neck to work the kinks out, he nodded and climbed up. Pausing as he was halfway up, his eyes wide, "You sure they won't yell at me for this? Not that I really care I guess..." Settling himself behind me, he snaked his arm around to pull me into his chest, avoiding the IV coming out of my arm.

I grinned, snuggling into his arms, "I asked the nurse if this was allowed and she said it wasn't. If someone happens to see then I'll get blamed for it." I shrugged, "Brain doctor poked me in the brain, I'm sure they'll take pity on me." I had no problem using that against them.

"Well, hopefully they won't bother us until morning. I'm beat and you need your rest. Doctor's orders." He mumbled and kissed my shoulder. "Do you realize that your ass is completely bare and this hospital gown is not leaving anything to the imagination?" Chuckling, Leon snaked his hand down to pinch my bare bottom.

I hummed, smirking, "That's fine. I'm yours already, don't need you to imagine anything." Turning my head slowly and carefully, I sought out Leon's lips and when I found them, I kissed him softly before turning my head back around, "I hope Tifa and Zell are doing okay with Shiva and Fenrir..."

"Well, it's really Zell at this point. Tifa left for that spa trip with Larxene this morning. She'll only be gone for a few days. I'm sure they will be fine." His voice was trailing off, and his words were slurring a little.

"Sweet dreams, Leon." I murmured, closing my eyes so I could go back to sleep as well.

"Love you, Cloud."

* * *

><p><strong>A month later<strong>

I'd been out of the hospital for a while now, my skull healing the way it should and Dr. Gizeh was happy to announce that I'd never see him again in my entire life. Which, I suppose was indeed a very good thing. I still wore a plastic sort of bandage on the spot, not allowing any shampoo to come near the healing wound. Thankfully I was allowed to wash my hair around the spot though because I absolutely loathed greasy hair.

It had gone so easily... I had tried my hardest to not let the tumor worry me, but now that it was gone, I couldn't quite believe how simple it had all been. Only two seizures overall, the occasional pounding headache and a surgery that was quite impressive, but that was nothing compared to what would have happened to me if the tumor had the chance to grow and slowly kill me. And everything was better now than it had been before. I had myself a husband and a home, two dogs and a life with a simple daily routine that I enjoyed and loved so very much...

Sighing happily, I pushed away from the door frame, coming back to the present as I walked into our room, making my way over to Leon who was currently closing his suitcase, having just finished packing up his stuff. Today we were leaving to Destiny Island. We were gonna have a real honeymoon... Smiling goofily like I had been doing for days on end now, I wrapped my arms around his waist, snuggling my body against his, placing a soft kiss at the base of his neck.

"I love you..." I told him for the millionth time today.

Chuckling and turning so he could wrap his arms around me to give me a squeeze, he murmured, "I love you more. Are you ready? We don't have to be there for a couple hours, but let's just get the car packed up now."

I grinned, kissing him again, "I was waiting for you. We can start packing up the car..." I murmured, letting my hands rub over his back, giving him another kiss and then another. I chuckled, "We have to get there soon." He knew what I meant. The moment we got into the room Leon had gotten for us he was getting naked and hopefully I'd manage to keep him naked for the entire trip.

Reaching around to cup my ass and pull it against him, he moaned and smiled down at me. "I can't believe we've been married for three months and we haven't had sex yet. But don't worry," Squeeze. "I'll fix that." He let his lips rest against mine for a moment, before snaking his tongue out and kissing me harder. Clutching his shoulders, I returned the kiss momentarily, moaning loudly, my body kicking into overdrive as I got an instant hard on. I was beyond the point of sexual frustration...

"Leon, lets go before I rip your clothes off and have you do me right here on the floor." I breathed out, reluctantly pulling away from him so I could grab his suitcase and then tried to be very strong and leave the room without getting at least one more kiss. "Too hot for you own damn good." I grumbled, making my way down the stairs.

I didn't get more than two steps from the bottom before I felt his hands on my ass, groping and pinching me. "Too bad you couldn't still be in that hospital gown. I liked how the back was always open." He chuckled, against my shoulder. What the hell was he doing? I grunted and then whimpered, dropping the suitcase as I leaned back into him, my hands coming up so I could circle them back around his neck.

"Don't you want to go pack the car?" I asked, panting as he made very clear he liked my butt, his lips against my neck.

"Not really, no." He whispered, slowly trailing kisses all over my neck and shoulder, his hands came around my stomach and under my shirt, trailing featherlight touches up my chest.

Letting my arms come down again, I then reached back, my fingers grasping his butt firmly as I pushed my own ass back into his groin, "So then, what are you up too, Leon?" I asked playfully, grinding into him again, panting and goosebumps covering my skin as his fingers traveled up and down my chest.

"This shirt needs to come off and I'm pretty sure mine will follow. How does that sound?" Harder and harder he pulled us together, grinding his erection into my backside, moaning and panting in my ear. "I can't wait...please?"

"Sex on the stairs?" I breathed out, licking my lips as my eyes closed, my heart beating fast at the friction we were creating. "You're the best husband in the entire world..." I moaned. I let him tug my shirt over my head, one hand on my hip to keep me steady before he returned his lips to my neck and shoulders, nipping my skin from time to time.

He didn't answer, only moved his hands down to my pants and quickly flipped the button open and pulled the zipper down before grasping the waistband and pushing them down to my feet, his lips placing kisses along my spine. Slowly moving back up, he nibbled playfully on my ass, kissing each of my cheeks and finally standing back up, turning me around to face him.

"You are so fucking hot." He murmured.

I started tugging on his shirt, "And you are wearing too many clothes." He let go of me to remove his shirt and I let out an annoyed noise, smacking his hands away so I could undo his pants myself. "That pleasure is gonna be mine, thank you very much." I told him sternly, licking my lips as I started pushing his pants and briefs down his hips, his hard on springing free, which I placed a kiss on the tip off, helping him step out of his jeans before standing back up. "You should stay naked forever..." I told him happily.

"Well, maybe when we're home alone." He chuckled, and wrapped his arms back around me, pushing his groin into mine. "Shit. Lube, I need lube." Reluctantly removing his arms, he turned to run back upstairs to grab it. "Stairs yes, but we should do it at the bottom!" He yelled down from our bedroom.

I grinned, walking down the stairs to wait for him there, feeling oddly comfortable being completely naked in the middle of my home. So comfortable, I needed to tease him just a bit, "Oh, god!" I moaned, "Yes, that feels perfect... Leon, get here fast or else I'm going to come without you!" I let out a throaty groan, "Ass up in the air waiting for you, hubby!" I was actually just standing there.

"God dammit, where is the fucking lube?" I heard him growl and slam drawers shut, hunting for the lube we had bought for the bedroom. "You are so mean to me!" He yelled down followed by a triumphant yell and him thundering down the stairs, glaring at me standing there. "Hey, you said you had your ass in the air..." He pouted at me, twisting the lube open and coating his hand.

"I was just teasing, but you're right, that was a little mean..." Pursing my lips, I walked over to the stairs, leaning down onto my arms on a couple of steps above, my knees on the second before last. Looking up at him innocently, I pressed back, pretty much exposing my ass to the air like I'd told him I had been doing earlier. "This good?" I'd never dare something this forward with anyone but Leon.

"Holy fuck..." Gulping and licking his lips, he slowly knelt behind me, placing short kisses on my spine and running one finger between my cheeks. "Please tell me you're ready, or I'm going to explode all over your perfect ass..."

Arching my back, I moaned as his fingertip pressed against my entrance, "Yes..." I panted out, having nothing else to say to that. "Need you." I really, really did. Another kiss, and then his finger was inside, gently moving while his lips never seemed to leave my skin. He pumped a little, before pulling out, and applying more lube and gently used two fingers to play with my entrance, asking silently if I was ready before going back inside.

I pushed onto his fingers myself, letting my forehead drop to the stair step, moaning continuously as he started fingering me again, stretching me so I would be all good and ready to take him. I chuckled as I saw his own hard on straining what with how I was looking between my parted legs. He kept up the pace for a while until I told him to add another, the third finger making me wince at the intrusion at first, but Leon took good care of me, he always did... Wasn't long before I was pretty much fucking myself onto his fingers, breathing out his name along with a string of curses, his hand on my hip gripping me tightly as he surely realized that soon I'd be ready.

Gripping the stairs step, I put my weight onto my arms, looking over my shoulder, "Leon..." I moaned and that was all I needed to say.

He looked pained. "Condom?" He'd forgotten to grab one and from the looks of it, I don't think he wanted to go and find one...

I swallowed, licking my lips, "I'm clean." I told him honestly.

"Me too, but if you don't like it..." He blushed, and absently stroked his hand over my ass.

I grinned through my horny daze, "Are you kidding me?" And then I blushed a bit, "You can come inside me..." I whispered. Sending me a grateful look, he grabbed the lube and slicked his dick up, before dropping the bottle and positioning himself at my entrance. Taking a deep breath, he slowly pushed inside, pausing for a moment after the head was inside to give me time to adjust.

"Cloud, oh god, you feel so good..." Reaching back with one hand, I grasped his wrist, my eyes wide open as I panted, guiding him to move slowly and deeply into me.

"And you're fucking huge!" I knew that already, but you sort of came to understand it a little better when it was pushed inside of you. I gulped, breathing through the initial little pinch of pain which was mixed with amazing goodness. I relaxed as best I could, which became very easy as the hand I wasn't gripping slowly stroked my back up and down, over my ass and down my leg only to slide back up again, his fingers soft and caring as he waited for me to adjust. I let go of his hand and he then slipped it over and onto my stomach before wrapping his fingers around my erection, rubbing slowly, squeezing in all the right places. Chuckling at the amazing feeling, I leaned onto my forearms, "So good..." I moaned, pressing my ass against him, telling him with that action that he could definitely start moving now.

"God, you feel amazing..." He started out slow, but quickly moved faster, listening to my moans and matching them with his own. Leaning over, he placed a quick kiss on my back below my neck, before sitting back up and changing the angle of penetration to hit my prostate.

"Oh!" He hit it again, "Leon!" I shrieked, not a bad shriek, one of the really good kind. Eyes rolling back, my body trembled and shivered beneath his hands, the thin layer of sweat covering me, a thing I liked. Pushing up, I reached my arms back, circling them behind his neck so I could hold onto him. My back pressed against his chest with my head resting onto his shoulder as he pounded firmly into me, his hand on my dick never skipping a beat.

"I'm-" My fingers dug into his shoulders, my chin dropping to my chest as my muscles tensed, my ass clenching tightly around him as I, "coming..." I panted out, followed by his name, an I love you and then some curses as I came hard, my body shivering against him. I held onto him, moaning as he continued to work himself to the finish, turning my head so I could kiss his cheek and encourage him with soft moans against his ear.

"Cloud..." Once again biting down on my shoulder, he shuddered and finished inside of me, gripping me tightly against him. Panting and lapping at the bite mark, he slowly loosened his grip around me. "You okay?" He asked, breathlessly.

I nodded, swallowing as I licked my lips, "More then okay... Just, don't move right away." I murmured, not wanting to lose the connection just yet. "Just a couple more seconds." I half moaned half whispered, catching my breath as I slowly unlocked my arms from around his neck, leaning onto the step again with my arms. "Okay... You can move now." I murmured.

"Don't wanna..." He mumbled and kissed my neck. Despite his words, he very slowly moved his hips back and drew out of me. Groaning, he leaned back away from me, and gently massaged my lower back as he stood up. "Want me to carry you to the bath?" He asked gently.

I moaned again, turning over as I stared at him with gooey eyes, "Would you?" Reaching out for him, he smiled stepping closer, "Love you so much... That was perfect." I whispered to him, smiling happily as he someone managed to lift me up into his arms, my limbs wrapping around him.

Tucking my head into his shoulder, he whispered back, "I love you too, Cloud. Can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

* * *

><p><strong>Leon - six months later: Christmas<strong>

I grinned internally as Cloud opened the package that I'd given him after he'd thought we were done with presents. It was a special present, one that I knew he'd been looking for. Frantically looking for every chance he got and dodging my looks or questions about where it had gone. Our wedding bands had been plain silver, bought by Tifa, and I'd been wanting to get something more to be added to them.

I was grateful in a way that Tifa hadn't presumed to put an engraving on the inside of the band, as that would have been presumptuous when we had first been married as strangers. Now though, I wanted him to have something on the inside, telling him that this was a real marriage, had been for awhile now.

So last week, I'd taken his from his nightstand and dropped it off at the jewelry store to get the engraving done. Mine had been done the week before and had only taken a day, but this close to Christmas had meant that I'd had to wait three days for Cloud's to be done. So I decided to give it to him as a present, instead of just showing the engraved part to him on Christmas. I hadn't really thought that part through, as he'd been pretty frantic when he thought I wasn't looking, searching all over for it. I felt kinda bad, but this was going to be perfect.

I'd gotten the idea for the engravings when I'd gotten suckered into going ring shopping with Zell, who was hoping to ask Tifa to marry him on Christmas day. That had been a rather horrifying experience, but he'd found something to impress her with. I'd watched as the jeweler had engraved a watch for someone else in the store and he'd told me it would be easy to add something to the inside of our rings.

The past six months had been amazing with Cloud. We'd spent two weeks in Destiny Islands just relaxing and enjoying each other. When we came home, Larxene had offered me a different promotion, one that would not increase my hours, but would increase my pay. She wanted me to serve on the board of directors for the firm, as a representative of our branch. I'd basically be working in my office still, but every once in a while I would have to travel across town and sit in meetings all day.

We'd gone to spend Thanksgiving with my family, and my parents were reintroduced to Cloud and we had a pleasant, albeit, boring time. I'd declined my parents' invitation to come back down for Christmas, simply saying that we were spending our first Christmas together with just us. Just me, Cloud, Shiva and Fenrir. I couldn't be happier.

The girls had grown to their full size over the last few months and would now start gaining in muscle and width instead of height. Shiva was laying by my feet, her head resting on my foot, while Fenrir was lying on her back beneath the Christmas tree, licking the pine because apparently she enjoyed the taste of it. Shaking my head at the silly dog, I returned my attention to Cloud, who slid the ring out of the package and into his open palm. His breathing hitched, and he looked up at me with big round eyes.

"I swear, I didn't lose it on purpose." He said quickly, still believing he'd been the one to have lost it.

"Actually, I took it. I only meant for it to be gone for a day, but the guy needed longer to get to yours. Sorry to make you worry." I patted his knee, hoping he would forgive me for stressing him out.

He gaped, smacking my knee in return, "Leon! I swear to god the heart attack started when I couldn't find it and only stopped now that I'm holding it in my hand again!" He scolded, "Although... I started to believe something was up when you pretended to believe the excuse I came up with last, 'I hung it in the Christmas tree for decoration'. I wondered why you bought that one so easily..." He murmured, frowning as he looked down at the ring, "What did the guy do-" He cut himself off, smiling as he saw the engraving, "Leon..." He whispered, shuffling closer to me on the couch so he could settle into my side. "Thank you." He said, placing a kiss against my jaw.

Placing the ring in my hand, he turned a bit to face me, leaning in to kiss me properly, "I'm glad you put the wedding date and not the date of when we actually started being with each other. That's only when the kissing and groping started, we were married before that..." He kissed me again, slowly and lovingly before sticking his hand out to me, smiling as he wanted me to put the ring back on his finger. Sliding it back where it belonged, I let myself just kiss him, happy that everything had turned out so perfectly.

A/N: The End.


End file.
